The Good, The Bad, and The Rest

So while we wait for whatever it is you have loading on the other tab, lets take stock of some good things in life. Family, without them there wouldn't be any life to take stock of, friends because without them we wouldn't be able to make sense of anything. Food because without it we could not live, but these are all given, facts, nothing of the aforementioned good things are good because of the consequences, or the effect they have. Not everyone's family is a positive experience, some friends are not good friends, and too much food leads to issues. What are the good things in life then? A sunny day, a pat on the back, or a smile from the person you've been trying to attract for the past few months?

I suppose like beauty, it is in the eyes of the beholder. Since it is easy to see the negative in things too, and it isn't smart to always walk around the world with rose colored glasses on, but it puts things in a proper perspective. I've fallen out of the habit of smiling when greeting people, and even something that small can ruin a first impression. It is impressive how much of a difference a handshake, or simple hello makes. Sometimes that's all someone needs to have their day brightened. So it isn't what happens that makes something good, its the perspective we see it in.

If that is the case, then what is bad but the opposite of good? Then what makes something bad is how we perceive any experience. Though that, I don't think, covers it all. No, because bad is an overused term to describe anything we don't like, and therefore should be used less in this post. Because this isn't about dislikes and what makes us the opposite of happy. It is about the wrong things in life, the things no one can explain, aches and pains in places there is no cure. Not evil, just not right, not what we imagined how life would play out. That's just it though, we can't know how life plays out, its the biggest secret of our existence. The key is not what we thought might happen, or where we wanted to be by this point in our lives, the key is experiencing it all, the good, the wrong, and the rest.

That is life, experience. The right, the wrong, and the indifferent. Our future will come whatever we do, what we need to worry about is where we are now, and make the best of what we have, no matter the scope. Some lessons parents can't teach, there are lessons only life can teach, and they are usually the hardest. The thing to remember is that no matter how hard life is, you can still wake up every day and make a difference in someone or somethings life. A man once said that chivalry was not dead so long as there was one man who still believed in it. There are those who can tell you personally that I believe in it. I am a gentleman because I choose to be the better person, even when they say good guys finish last. Not because I want someone to realize it, but because I want to make someones day, to make them feel like someone notices, someone knows, someone listens and hears.