At the previous article” the two papers”, we tackled the various views of every day events that people adopt, hence different perspectives and responses arise. We broached one of the critical life skills, that is, to train oneself to adopt a broad view of both positive and negative sides of an issue.
We recounted the story of the man who judged 2016 as a bad year due to the events he witnessed. On the other side, his wife obtained a different view as when she read his words, she offered him another paper to read.
It read, “Last year, you underwent ‘a gallbladder’ removal surgery and you were healed from its torturing pain that you suffered for long years. You prospered into 60. You signed many contracts to publish many books about major topics so you are to devote yourself to writing and in the very same year, your dad departed after leading a wonderful and fruitful life till 85 leaving peacefully in good health without making anybody suffer. God also saved our son from dying in a car accident that left him recovered with no traces, injuries or complications. Then she concluded by, “What a blessed year that ended so well.”The wife tried to bring her husband to think of the bright side of the events that he would find a glimpse of light amid the great darkness. Not all the incidents we face are gloomy as one must consider all the sides of an incident before giving the ultimate judgment.
The wife and husband wrote about the same incidents they faced during one year, but each one of them viewed them from different perspective or maybe so contradictory that the wife’s words were totally different from her husband’s. However I think that both perspectives are two sides of one coin. Both complete each other and offer a wider view of the incidents, hence a more accurate understanding. Therefore, it is not fair to concentrate on one side, whether positive or negative, of an incident. As when you concentrate on the negative side only: you are giving the chance to sadness and depression to aggravate and lie heavy on you as a rock that shatters your hopes, dreams and your aptitude to embark on life. On the other side, if you decide to concentrate on the positive side only, you are surrounding yourself with a dreamy unrealistic atmosphere. So when facing difficulties, you would turn to a prey to depression that would negatively affect your steps toward achieving your dreams. Train yourself to see the different colors of life, so you would be closer to a realistic and moderate judgment on all matters.
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
