There are some saints that don’t exist but ought to! I am nominating St Thurbald for the position of Patron Saint of Well Meaning Interference. There was no such person, but I am appointing him to the job since he seems to have so many followers.

 

I’m sure you’ve met his disciples. They flock around when you are going through a relationship crisis offering pearls of wisdom with goodness in their hearts, but no in depth knowledge of the situation. “Married men never leave their families” they will solemnly inform you. Or: “Once a cheat, always a cheat.”

 

Often their advice is completely contradictory. One will tell you to call your partner, the other will tell you to leave him alone. One will say, “Treat ‘em mean, keep ‘em keen,” while another will recommend that “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Before long your head is spinning, and you feel worse rather than better.

 

The fact is that no one can make your decisions for you. No one else stands in your shoes and sees things from your perspective. When you are surrounded by well meaning interference, pray to St Thurbald to help you keep steady on your own course, thanking them nicely for their input, smiling sweetly, but doing what is right for you, or as Professor Higgins puts it in “My Fair Lady”:

 

            “She listens very nicely

            Then goes out and does precisely

            What she wants!”