Friends that Disagree

A friend once told me about a time
in college when a long time friend told
him he was going to get married, and
that he wanted my friend to be his Best
Man.

My friend always knew that is what his
friend wanted and intended when the time
came but, in this particular case, he
felt the choice wasn't one that he could
support, and told his friend that if he
married her, he could not be his Best Man.

His friend was pissed. His friend also
is now happily married to someone else,
and has a couple of kids. He chose not
to marry the other woman.

Did my friend have anything to do with
his choice? Who knows what happened
exactly? However, when the conversation
was had my friend pointed to some very
serious issues and considerations and
took a stand for the sake of his friend.

I once watched an interview with Lisa
Marie (Presley) in which she said she
was upset with how those in her dad's
life didn't help him until she realized
that he had (in essence) an "agree
with me" or "get away" attitude. She
also noted that Michael Jackson had a
similar situation as well, surrounding
himself apparently with "yes" men.

While it is important for us to be true
to ourselves, it is also important that
we have friends who will stand up for
us in spite of what the consequences
might be. Someone might stand up and
be wrong in regard to what is indeed
right for us, but that friend might also
be a saving grace in some circumstances.

Who knows what the right balance is, as
it will vary from person to person and
situation to situation, so knowing what
the "right" thing to do falls again on
being connected with oneself and respectful
of another and his/her choices.

We can be at odds and be combative, or we
can be at odds and be respectful. There
is a big difference between the two, and
the difference can make or break a
relationship between people, organizations,
countries.

A challenge to what we believe and what we
want can really suck, but it can also be
the very thing that gets us where we need
to be.

Silencing those who look at things differently
than we do can be one of the greatest things
we can do to cause ourself harm, and so is
being swayed too easily by another's idea of
what is right for us.

Who ever said being human made sense, or
was easy? LOL. But the "funny" thing is
that it is easier than we think it is. It
just so happens that being human often
includes making things complicated.

But...odds are this would never apply
to YOU now, would it? :P