Despite some controversy among linguists, it is said that the Inuit have over 50 words for "snow." Similarly, we Americans have numerous colloquialisms for the way that we characterize dealing with adversity. Glass half full or half empty. A light at the end of the tunnel. Always darkest before the dawn. Into every life a little rain must fall. They all seem so binary (full/empty, light/dark, rain/shine) and yet life is often full of many shades of gray (not that shades of gray).
No doubt you have your favorite and you invoke it on those occasions when life challenges you more than you were prepared for or can handle. And we seem to be surrounded by those challenging times. Cancer, chemo, Covid-19, closed businesses, cut off from family, containment - whatever is your personal collection of confrontations, a pithy pillow saying may just not be enough to get over the hump. And that's when we need to dig a little deeper (if we can) and get to the core of our outlook on life.
No, this is not going to get all heavy and preachy, so feel safe to read on. For many of us, healthy or otherwise, this is some tough shit that we are going through. Our instincts start to kick in and we react with what's deepest inside of us - our most elemental emotions and our most subliminal coping skills. There is no magic answer/formula or perfect saying that works for everyone. Hopefully there iS something that does work for you - a stop gap or jump start to scale the seemingly monumental mountain we are facing, and make it back down to the other side. It may take awhile, it may take a few tries, it may take help from a lot of loved ones.
Don't get me wrong, I too am not above being adversely affected by the atmosphere of angst all around us (a head of lettuce would be depressed by our current situations and challenges). But let me put my old fart hat on for a second (the one that comes with the AARP membership), and say that with 6 decades of perspective one can see that bad stuff comes and goes, and we keep rolling on. Will we be better and stronger (that's a hard and perhaps unnecessary prediction/expectation to imagine), but we will be, and that's the part to focus on. If we can look way down deep inside, and take a breath (when deep breathing seems it's hardest) it's not reckless to believe that this too shall pass. If we believe in improvement (really strive for / support improvement), and we hold onto the tiniest thread of that outlook, then there is a good chance that it will be so. Maybe not perfect, but a little better. And then a little better than that, and a little better than that - and before you know it, it's actually pretty ok. And that may be "as good as it gets" for awhile. But our outlook keeps us looking out for the good that can be, and the better that we must work toward.
