So I think I am right, in this moment, about two things.  One, you have a REALLY annoying ear worm (you’re welcome) and two, at some point, there is no getting back up again, for you realize there will be no “winning”.

No, no, dear reader, I am not wallowing in some primordial ooze of self pity and defeat, I am actually redefining “winning”.

I had reason to think about getting knocked down– or, at least, knocked back– a couple of times today, and it occurred to me that I was fighting the wrong battles.  Whether it’s the passive-aggressive office character or the friend whose relationship is defined by “Do you want me to come here or sic ’em?”, I had nothing to gain by getting back up, again, and getting knocked down…. again…. Rather, if I stayed low, I had a completely different view, and I was out of the line of fire.

It makes me think of of another quote, much more erudite than our friends of the 1990’s (oh go on, you know you want to: Click to listen). From his poem “Invictus”, William Ernest Henley says this about adversity:

And sometimes I think knowing when to stop fighting a losing battle is the mark of the unconquerable soul. Winning is, perhaps, not fighting every battle, but rather only fighting the ones worth winning.

Hmm.  That kind of actually makes me want to get back up again…. Damn you, Chumbawumba and your Tubthumping.