Right? Or Happy?

Would you rather be right or be happy?

When dealing with family illness or injury, relationships can be strained. One skill needed for Healthy Survivorship is choosing battles wisely. The following is excerpted from the Dallas Morning News article mentioned in my last post on living with Alzheimer's Disease:

The social worker told an audience of caretakers about a couple who fought over the color of the sky. The wife, who had Alzheimer's, would point to the sky and call it green.

Each time, her husband would argue with her, insisting that the sky was blue. And each time, she would forget the fight but he would remember it, until one day, he stopped arguing.

"Look at the green sky," she said. "Yes," he replied. "And isn't that sky beautiful."

This poignant story addresses the dynamic struggle between control and acceptance, and between fighting and relinquishing, whatever the circumstances.

When I am feeling annoyed by someone who is being contrary, I assess the situation. If the stakes are low, I now ask myself: Do I want to be right? Or happy?  

 

Comments

[dian]

Always be happy first :)