Today I watched episode 22, “Fred and Ethel Fight.” It aired on March 10, 1952.
In this episode, Fred and Ethel are in a fight, and then they make up. But then Ricky and Lucy fight. Neither one wants to say “I’m sorry” first, so they devise plans to make up without having to say sorry first. And that’s when the craziness starts…
It got me thinking about why people are so stubborn when it comes to saying sorry first. We get set in our ways. We dig our heels in and can’t move on. It’s almost like we don’t want to admit that we could ever be wrong.
We don’t give ourselves permission to let go and start new. We wait for the other person because we feel we were wronged.
What if we could give ourselves permission to just let things go and move on? What if we could just say sorry first?
Because there is vulnerability in it. We feel like we need to be strong and can’t show our soft side for fear it will be seen as weakness.
What if saying sorry was seen as something to be celebrated instead? Taking accountability for what we’ve done…that’s what I feel like would be so amazing.
Giving a sincere apology, adjusting our behavior going forward, and carrying on. Then it doesn’t become a power struggle if everyone does it.
And I know this is all a utopia I am describing. But can’t a girl dream?
