Q: When is it wrong to be right?

Q: When is it wrong to be right?

A: When it almost kills you. 

A few years ago, an avalanche forecaster well north of here issued an Avalanche Warning.  When people rolled their eyes at the boy crying wolf, he doubled down and decided to prove himself right.  Pretty soon, he found himself in the starting zone, and was subsequently caught and carried in an avalanche.  Like many of us, he suffered from an attachment (always the Ego, according to the Buddhists; we should rather strive for non-attachment) to his own forecast.   

When we spoke, he offered some unusual introspection: perhaps then it was his youth and eagerness that led him into the field that day to salvage a reputation.  But there was something else I wondered... but didn’t mention: in some fields there can be a tendency to substitute academic training for miles in the field where in truth, it should supplement it.  “To the theorist, there is no difference between theory and practice.”  (The character in the story is no longer forecasting.)

I can understand the desire to be *right* - to be accurate with one’s forecast.  But not at any cost.  When a blind pursuit of “rightness” tears at the fabric of relationships, personal and mental well-being; or in this case, one’s physical safety; we might well reexamine our motivations and assumptions. 

The last time I told this story, I was interrupted by someone who ostensibly wanted to *protect* the reputation of the avalanched forecaster.  

The Ego will protect itself until the End of Times, even until the End of our own time. In other words, have we not seen the Ego destroy its physical being to protect itself? And this says nothing of what it will do to others in its path.

So I offer no solutions, only stories and cautionary tales..

But I’m open to them.