Silver linings

Virginia Russell, Opinion Writer

They’re there. Even when you have trouble seeing them. No, I’m not talking about lice. Something a little less itchy, but still almost impossible to shake. Silver linings! Do I sound like an overly enthusiastic mom? That’s the plan. I’ve obviously had some time on my hands to do pretty much whatever, and that’s where my silver lining mentality was formed, so I thought why not tell everybody about their importance? This works especially well for me because now no one has the excuse of being bogged down by work or doing more productive things, because we all know that’s not the case. Convenient isn’t it?

Anyways, silver linings, they’re great. They come in handy when you’ve got a case of the “no’s and nothing’s.” There’s nothing on TV, there’s no food in the fridge, there’s nothing new on Hulu, except for that movie with subtitles. Please, let me stop you. Instead of always finding a lack of good things, make those supposed nothings somethings. That movie with subtitles could be the only new release because it’s just that amazing. If you researched it, you might discover that it won best picture at the Oscars. There might be nothing in the fridge that you’ve tried, so find some recipes and whip up a new dessert fusion. Once you discover this trick, so many activities can be done and so many doors can be opened.

Another benefit of this mentality is the obvious positive effect it generates. I’m not trying to push sunshine and rainbows in your face, I’m just saying it makes a difference to feeling down all the time. The other day, I was told our neighbors were moving and were going to be living almost five states away. I wasn’t pleased, but then I thought about how I could form this news into something a bit brighter, and I did. Instead of thinking about how much I was going to miss them, I thought about how they would get more opportunities for work and would be able to see the ocean everyday. How my family’s able to meet new people who can hopefully brighten up our lives with their personalities. They made our neighborhood so much better than it was. That’s three things. Where I couldn’t even look past the fact that they were going, I managed to find three positives to them leaving. This isn’t impossible for anyone.

The silver lining mentality hasn’t been an object of everyone’s affections lately. Right now, people are finding it hard to see inspiration in this crisis. When faced with a sky full of clouds, there are only dark, imposing thunderheads. There’s also the argument that silver linings only make us feel better about our bad decisions and blind us from how bad they really are. However, notice that they’re called silver linings and not gold or sunbeam linings. They’re not meant to shoot bright light your way so you can’t see what’s happening, but rather remind you of the shimmer that life possesses. When we only focus on the storm, we never see how green it makes the grass. We don’t really get to choose what our future will be currently, but we can choose to see the hearts in the windows and the beauty of a sunset walk. The laughter in Zooms and the reward of a finished puzzle. Silver linings are there. They will always be there.