On optimism in conversation and perspective

Imagine this, everyday you walk to work with your head down. When you arrive at your destination and begin to socialize, you start to complain, "There is so much concrete in this part of town, everything is boring and grey." You get several nods from your coworkers. Some even chime in with synonyms of their own, "It makes everything look so cold! Why don't they ever do anything to fix that?" It brings brief comfort to hear these harmonic chimes aligning with your own perspectives. It's almost like you feel a connection to these other people, a connection only shared experiences can bring. The ground is something they see every morning as well. 

But contrary to what you notice, a few others look at you with questioning eyes. They wonder why these are the words you speak every morning. Today they left their house looking above, ahead and around. They were met with a smile from a willow that weeped only with beauty, a stranger whose tired eyes crinkled a defiantly kind hello, and a sky turning blue just after being soaked in an early sunrise. 

And yet, when they arrived at work they did not speak of willows, hellos and sunrises. When listening to common conversation, the only thing they heard was concrete, boring and grey. They began to think it was only okay to discuss such uninspiring things. And so the coworkers worked with the memory of their morning's loveliness locked inside their head, thinking how concrete, boring and grey the world sounded that day. This was unfortunate, because this was not the only shared experience within the room.

It is very common within our society's conversations to speak negatively when topics arise. It is something everyone does, so perhaps it seems like less of a risk. Perhaps in a quest to feel liked we look for common ground in hate, which is far easier to harbour and express. But what feels a lot better than that is to share our love of the world with others, the things that make us happy. Imagine that. :-)

-love the rainstorm canvas <3