Seeing Crappiness and Happiness
Comments on a Trip to New Orleans
I once had a work colleague who was so excited to go with her hubby on vacation to New Orleans. Having lived in New Orleans with family and friends there, I was very interested in hearing her plans. They had a full agenda, a hotel in a great location, and they seemed ready to experience something different.
Several of us were eager to hear about her trip when she returned. She said she had a MISERABLE experience. Some of her comments:
- It’s so dirty.
- It smelled so bad.
- Strangers kept talking to me trying to get me to engage with them.
- The service people were chatty and kept calling us things like ‘dahlin’ and ‘shoog’ (short for sugar) instead of taking our orders right away.
- It was wet.
- It was loud.
Actually, I couldn’t even count how many times she said New Orleans was dirty. What did she expect? Her comments were perplexing.
I laughed. Yes! That’s New Orleans!!! It’s any big city! And, c’mon, there’s so much MORE to experience than that!!!
My colleague chose to focus on the negative aspects of her experience. The more she focused on them, the more she experienced unpleasantness. She closed herself off to the vibrant colors, delicious tastes, delightful sounds, and beautiful smiles that she could have experienced. She could have seen how warm and friendly people are. These experiences were there, too! New Orleans offers so much magic, as most places do, especially if you want to notice.
Choose any city, large or small, even a rural village, or any place. I promise you we can find plenty of crappiness there. The more you look for crappiness, the more you’ll find. Why not look for happiness alongside it and keep your perspective balanced? After all, the more you look for happiness, the more of that you’ll find, too!
We carry our perspectives and attitudes with us. We choose where we put our focus. Do you want to see the crappy or the happy? Why not both?
After all, one won’t be there without the other.
