Words for the Birds.

As negative as I may seem to be, I truly admire people who can have a positive outlook in the midst of even the darkest hours. And although I poke fun of hippie-dippy people who recite affirmations and keep crystals in their pockets, I truly wish I could be like them. Sometimes it’s so hard for me to be positive it actually feels like a physical impairment. 

I swear I’m not a cynic – I’m a realist. The difference is I don’t think everything happens for a negative reason, or any reason for that matter. I think shit just happens and you have to accept it. Everyone deals with adversity differently. Some want to be coddled while some want to be slapped, and as a friend I will do whatever you want me to do. But I will never tell you “It’s all part of a plan”. Never. 

Ultimately, I believe that we should all pay closer attention to other people’s coping mechanisms and try to be more empathetic towards them – myself included. I have a tendency to always need to say something and I wind up coming off as insensitive. Other times I know that nothing I say will make it better, so I say nothing at all and still come off as being insensitive. I hope that I can make up for the silence with my ability to listen instead. 

I may not be the friend who will have encouraging words to say if you quit your job in the middle of a recession, but I will be the friend who spruce’s up your resume and forwards you every job lead I know of. And I will never tell you that “Things happen for a reason” if your chemotherapy doesn’t work, but I will go wig shopping with you and spark up a fat one until the both of us can’t feel our face, or the pain. 

Editors Note: Shout out to Emily McDowell studio for her cute aesthetics, and endearing empathy cards. I’ve been meaning to do a post about the topic at hand, and her cards inspired me to finally write it.