Laying Down My Sword... Again and Again

From ministry that rose in me last first day:
I feel that a prayer I didn't even know I was praying has been answered. I came to Meeting today with an angry and resentful heart. I received a disturbing communication shortly before leaving for Meeting, and I almost didn't come because I was so agitated that I feared I wouldn't even be able to sit still.
As I sat here in worship, I felt such a shift in me. One of the images that came to me was a story about an interaction between George Fox and William Penn. I have no idea if this story is literally, historically true, but it is spiritually true, and it has been such a help to me. According to this story, William Penn asked George Fox if he had to take off his sword, and George Fox told him "to wear it as long as you can."
I'm thinking about the sword that I am called again and again to lay down, my need to be right. I keep thinking that I've learned that lesson, but apparently I haven't, at least not well enough, because I keep being presented with new opportunities to learn it again. I suspect this is not the last time, either.
It's only by taking off this figurative sword that I am able to see how heavy it is, how much it weighs on me and obscures my vision. When I was wearing the sword, I could not have compassion for the other person. All I could see was how hurt I was, and how right I was. Now I can see that this friend is doing the best they can, that we're all often just doing the best we can. Unbuckling that sword freed up such energy, and I'm able to see ways we might move towards some resolution whereas before I was so locked in to this conflict that we were at an impasse.
As attractive as I find my sword of righteousness, what a relief to lay it down, and see it for the burden that it is.