Show Us the Blue Sky !

Imagine a summer day. It's two in the afternoon. You are taking a walk at the park. There is a light breeze. A bumble bee buzzes in a nearly flower. The sun is shining strong. The sneakers make your feet feel like toasted breads. Your throat feels dry, you reach for the bottle of water but realize that you forgot it at home. Your backpack is getting heavier and worsen the sweat on your back. Now, it’s easy to curse the heat and the damn decision to take a walk in the first place; it's hard to compliment the blue sky, the green trees, and feel grateful that you are healthy and actually capable of walking.

“It’s easy to be heavy, hard to be light.” said G. K. Chesterton.  How true it is!

It was proven by research that we human, notice and recall bad events more often than good one, in much higher level of detail. One of the explanations is thousands of years of evolution of the survival instinct/skill. The fact that the hemisphere that processes bad experiences much more in details, comparing with how the other hemisphere processes good experiences, helps us to increase our speed of response to similar future danger such as predators.

So remembering bad events is not necessary bad. But I do think that increasing our awareness of this primitive tendency, and mastering in controlling our outlook could bring us joy.

I rode my motorbike in the heavy late summer rain one morning. It was pouring. My motorbike was shaking in the wind, the raincoat made riding more difficult, my sneakers were wet, I could barely see the street. Whenever things like this happen, I told myself to feel grateful. “I’m grateful for the rain, because without rain life would not exist”. And I thought of lands I visited in Africa, where water was nothing but treasure. Suddenly my mood lifted. I laughed as it poured harder. I giggled as the water was dripping under the raincoat, formed a tiny river from my neck to the middle of my chest. It was so much fun! I arrived at the gym exhilarated, joked around with the reception girl, helped a confused-looking woman - she must have been new there - to with her cardio exercise.

If I had started cursing the rain, arriving at the gym enraged, I would've complained to the girl at the reception, vented to other women the changing room. And misery loves company, I would've received enthusiastic response! Eventually, we would've all sang the cursing song, inflated each other's negativity ball. Meanwhile, the rain kept falling outside the window.

"It's easy to be heavy, hard to be light"

I thought of my blog. Some readers asked me if they could share the posts. Yes! Be generous, share, pay more attention to what you deemed beautiful. Spread the goodness like a joyous water droplet on a quiet lake. Give others a pad on their back while they are keeping their heads down and hustle. Show them the “blue sky”. You never know whose life that “blue sky” could save.

Photo Credit: Steven Janke, epSos .de, Kristina Alexanderson