Me vs Myself

An elderly man sought an apology from a much younger person for a mistake he comitted. The young person immediately told him that the he being an elderly person should not seek an apology. For this the man retorted saying it is not wrong for one to seek an apology from a younger person but the fact is that one is ready to accept that he has committed a mistake and is ready to apologise for the same. The elder man stood up to himself.
It is said the person is said to be brave if he can accept that he has committed a mistake. This is something like standing up to yourself and your ego. So you are actually fighting yourself which though sounds easy in reality is extremely difficult.
People cause more damage not when they commit mistake but when they are unwilling to accept their guilt and apologise. A very good example was Ravana from the great epic Ramayana. Ravana was a great king, a pious person and a wonderful person. He committed the mistake of kidnapping Sita, wife of Lord Rama. In the epic it is said that he realized his mistake but his ego and the inability to stand up against his guilt was the cause of his undoing and eventually he was branded the evil for the one mistake. If he had apologized to Lord Rama and Sita for his folly he would have probably been considered a very great king or even an emperor.