Jack’s Winning Words 10/21/21

“Be selective in your battles, for sometimes peace is better than being right.”  (sent by Kathy Marsceau)   One of my friends went to a military academy where he learned (among other things) that winning a war depends on picking your battles.  Successful relationships, including marriage, don’t occur if one person always has to be right. It’s a wise person who knows when to “speak up” and when to “shut up.”  “Let there be peace on Earth” comes about from listening, as well as speaking…followed by the appropriate action.  Have you seen that to be true?  ;-)  Jack

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  a similar bromide is this:   you can lose the battle and win the war OR you can win the battle and lose the war.   i prefer the former.  patience and timing are everything in most relationships. ===JACK:  ..or, "Pick your battles."  I've performed some weddings where I saw "problems" brewing.  What did I do?  I picked my battles  

FROM TRIHARDER:  During one of my therapy sessions with my (now ex-) wife, I had an epiphany.  I exclaimed, "I have to decide if I want to be married or I want to be right."===JACK:  Some divorces are the kindest action for all involved. ===TH:   Ours was. Most people don't realize it because they assume people don't get along forever. My X and I were always on the same page when it came to our children.  We would consult with each other. We get along better today than we did during our last years of marriage. It also helps that her husband and I get along.===JACK:  I suppose that in many marriages, one or the other person knows what chain not to pull (or to pull). 

 FROM SALON SUZY:  So true!===JACK: I suppose it's true in the salon business.  In fact, even pastors have to pick their battles.

FROM DR J:  In our yoga class, we do a “Mudra” or finger movement. We bring our thumb and first finger together and say “peace”, thumb to second finger “begins”, thumb to third finger, “with”, thumb to pinky “me”…I like it… I repeat  it throughout the day when I come across something I want to “battle”  Sometimes I debate others… but sometimes it’s just better to be at peace. I’m learning that it’s okay to have both in your life.  And peace can mean to "be still” and engaged…  Peace begins with me.  Enjoy the day!===JACK:  I like the song, Let There Be In The world...especially the line...And let it begin with me.

FROMSR IN SJ:  Oh, yes, I have , Jack!  And the first word of the Rule of Benedict is "LISTEN"!===JACK:  If Benedict said it, it's been an age-old problem, even among "the religious."  

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  you and i both know when it's time to "shut up" when we discuss... we don't always do it, tho. 😂===JACK:  We've been writing back and forth for enough time that we know one another's views and respect them without trying to change them.  I think that each of us are what we were.