Do you want to be right? OR Do you want to have relationship?

Happy Thursday everyone! Hoping the cold and snow are disappearing for some and rain is coming for others.  Can you say hip hip hooray!

Do you all remember the post the other day about Vegans and protein? Not sure why at times I feel the need to defend myself on why I eliminated animal protein from my diet.   Well last night was one of those nights where playing defense instead of offense flashed through my mind.

Have you ever encountered one of those situations where someone says "I'm not telling you what you should do I'm telling you what is good for me" followed by a story of their family tree and the length of their parents life while eating everything and anything they want.  Not to mention "some of those green leafy vegetables can cause health problems.  The real translation to that is:  "let me tell you what you need to do"!

During the last year my eyes have been opened to how different our food supply is today compared to those of our Grandparents and in some cases our parents.  When it comes to people that are old enough to be my parents I really do listen to what they have to say, after all they have to be doing something right to be in their 70's and 80's don't you think?

So last night was a time to practice listening to my elders.  As I sat there listening intently to every word she had to say she approached the topic of adequate protein intake.  She even had real life examples of people she knew who were vegetarians that had to add meat back into their diet due to low protein.  This was my MOMENT  "do you want to be right or do you want to have relationship"?  My choice,  I want to have relationship - my response to her was your so right and I am tracking that to make sure my protein intake is adequate. That is all it took, no heated discussion, no fleshly reaction,  no tactical defensive plays, just me being me.

What does all of that mean?  Ah how about - some things just are not worth reacting to - especially if there is some truth to what you are hearing.  Not to mention most of the time our friends really do care about us and want to help us evaluate the whole picture.  We all know what we know, if we want what others know we must listen!!!

The next time you find yourself in one of those situations where your defenses are coming out - ask yourself "Do I want to be right" OR Do I want to have relationship" your answer will determine the path the conversations goes.

#vegan #friendship #love