WordFood

Sometimes we have moments when our less attractive “parts” come out and belly up to the karaoke mike of life and spew out unpleasantness. We don’t like to admit to those aspects of ourselves, but they are us, facets of us, and we can insult and hurt others. The most important thing we must do in these cases do our best to breathe in and either try to stop that part from soldiering on, or, if possible, take responsibility for the damage and make an apology.
Last week while in Baltimore I had an emergency. Some nasty critter bit my ankle and landed me in the emergency room for four hours, and I was in terrible pain. By the time I got to the hotel I was exhausted and still in a lot of pain, on crutches and cranky. At the counter, the manager and I got into an argument about how many nights I was staying. It spiraled out of control. He threw my credit card at me and I used foul language at him. We ended up agreeing I’d stay but the atmosphere was black between us.
As he carried my luggage to the room, I suddenly realized that I was in the wrong. I turned to him and asked his forgiveness immediately. I said that I’d had no right to be so rude and apologized profusely.
The look on this man’s face was profound. His whole countenance changed. He relaxed. He smiled and said, “I accept your apology.” And we were fine. Just like that. And I felt worlds better.
We all have moments when we are tired and irritable. It happens. Our egos get invested in being right and we get rigid. That small serving of humble pie was a gift to us both. He and I passed the rest of that evening in gracious exchange.
Are there times when a moment of humility, words of self effacing WordFood can transform an exchange?