Sometimes you just have to walk away.

It’s been a long week. Fair weeks always are. Usually fun and exciting this year was cool and great and then the rainy.

Being around people nonstop brings out stuff. We all have stuff. We all respond to things differently. We respond largely based on the stuff in our lives. Sometimes we hold our tongue and other times we need to have others hold our tongue. Sometimes we can walk away with grace and other times we have to be led away by the spirit or by others stronger than our present ability is.

Several times this week I had a choice. Someone voicing an opinion that really wasn’t as much about their opinion as it was the rainy day blues. And I had the honor of it right in my lap. Some older people than I, some younger. Some had a legitimate gripe, others needed a good nap and half a day of sunshine. And several times I had a choice. To speak or to walk away. Some were ornery people and some were people being ornery. Some was simply me being in the wrong place at the right time. Some were just us human being being very human. It would have been much easier to give a speech. I would have loved to say what I knew and how right I was…. and surprisingly I was on the right side most of the time. What we don’t do well is be right with graceful hearts allowing the others to be wrong and not be humiliated. Sometimes just walking away is being right quietly.

Eventually one of the people stopped today and we had a great talk. He didn’t know I knew what had happened. He didn’t need to know because he needed a graceful out. It was a week of cloudy skies making tired people and crabby hearts. Or was it crabby people and tired hearts? It really didn’t matter: being big enough to smile and walk away took more energy than starting an argument.

Jesus let people out of situations gracefully. He wrote in the sand. He didn’t speak and when he did it was like 11 words. I am merely getting wound up in 11 words. I need about 12,000 ton properly defend my position. Jesus didn’t. He just wrote in the sand and spoke a few simple thoughts…. if it were only that easy…..