Wander & Wonder

If I look back at my month, I am grateful and blessed to say that most days were wonderful. But alas, being a human means going through the ups and downs of life and there were definitely many days were something (if not many things) went wrong. For instance, the day I finished 2 hours over-time and missed my swim practice, or the day I broke my favorite plate from my grandma, or the day I got splashed by muddy water by a bus speeding through a puddle (and I had just started my walk with Ghost). One particular day that comes to mind is from a few weeks ago: the day my alarm did not go off. I know this is a pretty common experience, but this had never happened to me before. Needless to say, I was quite stressed. I quickly messaged my supervisor to tell her I would be a a bit late (1.5 hours late…) and scrambled out of bed. In my hurry, I spilled my coffee and ended up leaving decaffeinated (and with messy hair).

Sometimes I really dwell over my bad days, especially if have had a series of let-downs or am more tired. I will often think things like, “why did this have to happen? why couldn’t it have been a good day?” and end up spiraling into gloominess. But recently I had a comforting thought: without badness we would not experience greatness. I initially thought that if there was no such thing as a bad day, then every day would be great. But if greatness were just the norm, then it would not really be great, it would just be neutral. Greatness only exists relative to badness. Aka we need bad days to have great days!

I think the best analogy is with vacations and work. Imagine if every day were a holiday. It might sound amazing at first, but without hard work, time off wouldn’t feel as special. Work gives vacation its magic. The shift from daily routine and to-do lists to new adventures and spontaneity is what makes vacations so memorable.

I try to keep this mindset in my pocket for when the next bad day comes around. My goal is to not dread bad days as much, and maybe even learn to appreciate them.