Thinking Out Loud, Volume CDLXVI

Two country songs. Two different messages. One is intended to be funny while the other is serious, yet I'm going to attempt to tie the two of them together to make a point. I'll give you the lyrics of the chorus on both of them, and we'll go from there. The first one is from Diamond Rio: I'd start walking your way, and you'd start walking mine. We'd meet in the middle 'neath that old Georgia pine. We gain a lot of ground when we both give a little. Ain't no road too long when we meet in the middle. Then there's one from Mac Davis: Oh Lord it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror, 'cause I get better looking each day. To know me is to love me. I must be one hell of a man. Oh Lord it's hard to be humble, but I'm doing the best that I can. I understand the message from the first one. It's about compromise. In order for any relationship to work, there has to be give and take from both sides. The result is neither side gets everything they want, nor does either side lose everything they want. There's common ground in the middle. Now to the second one. What makes it funny? I think it's because people laugh at things they can relate to. There has to be a degree of truth in it for it to be funny. Naturally, my first reaction is that in no way do I have a hard time being humble, nor do I believe I'm anywhere near thinking I'm hot stuff. Yet, a recent event has caused me to give that topic just a little more thought. I can truthfully say I have never intended to offend anyone, yet at times I do just that. Now, as I look back at what happened a few weeks ago, it's easy for me to see how my words could've been taken wrong and become offensive to the other party. What I meant as a funny way to pay a compliment came across as a crude insult. I should not have said what I said. Therefore, I need to apologize. But it's not that simple. You see, I'm of the opinion that an apology with an excuse is not a real apology. A genuine apology says, "I was wrong. There was no excuse for what I said and I'm sorry." It requires complete humility, and it's not easy for anyone to put himself in that position. "It's hard to be humble." Events such as this have happened to me just a few times in the past. The result was, however, when I humbled myself and did what needed to be done, the other party came around and completely forgave me, bringing the relationship back as if the offense never happened. That took humility on their part. In some cases, they have also apologized for getting so upset. I guess you could say we met "in the middle." For that to happen, though, it took a willingness on my part to to go on past the middle, all the way to their side. What I'm saying is, the other party has taken a share of the blame once I showed I was willing to take it all on myself. For some reason, we humans have a hard time swallowing our pride and humbling ourselves, even when we know it's for the best. We can easily advise someone else to do it, but when we have to do it ourselves, we find it becomes a little more personal. As for now, it's time for me to once again "be humble" and do what has to be done. Here's hoping that soon you'll be able to find me, with my newly reconciled friend "'neath that old Georgia pine." Preston