It's something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Must I always be right? Or should I set that urge aside and strive instead for peace?

Without question, I want (I need) harmony in my life.

It's the painful silence exaggerating the emotional expanse between two people. Over time, oh, how the mind twists and turns truths, manipulating them until they become unrecognizable -- unfixable. The silence that keeps you up at night, playing old scenes over and over in your mind. The silence that slowly turns the smallest years-old innuendo into the grandest gesture.

Sometimes you have to make the call. You have to swallow your pride to make the silence retreat, to put the genie back in the bottle, even if it's just for a while. It doesn't have to be anything monumental, what's important is that it has the power to be.

When communications break down, many things happen. For starters, the mind starts filling in the spaces that materialize between friends. The mind is inventive, cruel and cunning; it can lead you to believe in incidents that never actually occurred. However, the mind can also take great strides away from reality to spare you emotional grief or trauma. Issues morph into scenarios that more easily match your personal comfort level.

So, do you want peace, or do you want to be right? And what if you're fighting a battle to be right based on your (possibly) skewed observations?

Blame usually falls, to some degree, with both parties. It takes two to tango, after all. It's funny what people remember. It's also funny how they remember the same event.

Perception.

What you heard, smelled, felt and tasted. It cannot be what I saw, heard, felt or smelled.

Two people. Two vastly different stories.

Why would I ever want to create distance between myself and my friend? I would not want to. Why would I ever feel like I could not speak to you? Fear. Why on earth would I fear you? It's all about perspective.

Turn the clock back.

Posted at 8:31 a.m.