Have you ever considered this thought…Why is it that we as humans are so intent on picking apart details of negative events and rarely positive ones?

I can’t remember the last time that I sat down and had a conversation with someone, and picked apart a truly beautiful moment or memory. But I can’t tell you how many times I have been the contributor and the recipient of, in my mind unworthy subjects of conversation.

Think about what all we mire over in our minds…”Unworthy” in my mind includes the following: what he/she said about me, an argument with a family member, celebrity gossip, mindless murder throughout the world, friends cheating on their loved ones, incongruence with roommates, financial stress, the list is endless.

Don’t misunderstand, these issues absolutely deserve recognition. But don’t you think sometimes we give them a bit more credit than they are due?

Interestingly enough, I feel as though women in general have more of a tolerance to spend excessive amounts of time concerning themselves with the “unworthy.”

Why is that threshold not as strong in men? Where did the path bifurcate, sending women to have a much stronger desire to become enveloped in the mess?

Here again I search for answers as to why. I find through conversation with friends on this topic (my snazzy super awesome boss in particular) that much of the reason we belabor the negative is because humans by nature feel as though if we turn over the rocks of negativity enough times in our life, we will gain our answers. “All we wanna do is crack the nuts.”

In a sense, these endless diatribes are selfish. Centered around the majority of these transfers of information usually just involves one person. As Mipham says, first you…then me. That is all happiness is.

So the lesson for today is this:

Start dissecting meaningful occurrences. Start miring over a beautiful walk, the smell of new flowers, the hilarious friends, connecting with a new person, unexpected gifts, a great glass of wine or whatever it is that does bring you joy in your own life. Focus outward, don’t think relentlessly and egocentrically. Bite your tongue in the arch of conversation.

 

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Editor: Hayley Samuelson.