10 REASONS I SHOULD NOT LEAVE A DAY-LONG RETREAT, (THAT I FIND CONTENTIOUS, MADDENING, FUTILE, ASININE, AND PAINFUL), EARLY.

The best answer I can come up with is, "this afternoon could be better."

The second best answer I can come up with is, "I cannot help anyone if I leave."

The third best answer I can come up with is, "I could hurt someone, (specifically those I am with and whom I care about), if I leave."

The fourth best answer I can come up with is, "though I believe it very unlikely, it is possible that I am here for a reason."

The fifth best answer I can come up with is, "I am stronger than that."

The sixth best answer I can come up with is, "I cannot decide for me what I would not decide for everyone here; and that is not my place, regardless of personal feelings or beliefs."

Maybe the sixth best answer is really the first best answer.

This is not to say that I do not understand overwhelming frustration; because I believe I do. But there is a chance I really do not. And perhaps that is the seventh best answer.

The eighth best answer I can come up with is that, "in all likelihood, it most probably doesn't matter." (Which is pretty much the same as the fourth best answer, but with the added bonus of, "so what the hell?")

The ninth best answer I can come up with is, "to fight is to win."

And the tenth best answer I can come up with is, "so what the hell? I might as well hang around to see what happens."

I am not judging those who have already left early. And I am not judging those who yet decide to leave early. They have had their reasons. And the reasons above are mine.