Simple Solutions

My car has been dead for almost a year now... but it hasn't really been dead. The brakes were broken (I don't know car stuff, so "broken" is all I can say) so I was trying to sell it as a junker. But I have a mechanic friend who finally took a look at it, and I discovered that a mere $60 and an afternoon of work would get my dear sweet 1992 Nissan Sentra running well enough to get me to and from work. I'm so excited. It will make life so much easier!

Then I got to thinking... how many times in life do we look at a problem and crumple in defeat instead of solving it when the solution is relatively simple? I know I do it all the time. There are times when a minor problem can seem like a brick wall, and maybe we just don't notice the unlocked door slightly to the left... but when we do, it makes victory that much sweeter. If I had fixed my car right after it broke, I would have been mildly relieved, but not overjoyed. But months of sharing a car with Sully have made me fully appreciate how nice it is to have my own car. And now that I'm only a few days away from driving my sweet Nannette (yes, she has a name), I'm bouncing in my seat. I suppose it's a fair trade... giving up too easily and feeling dumb, but then getting this excitement and newfound appreciation for the solution.

It's like all those old sayings "you can't know the sunlight without the darkness" and "you can't know love until you understand heartbreak." Life really is all about the give and take. The bad makes you appreciate the good, and the good makes up for the bad. I can think back to so many times that I've lost something or missed out on something, but then I end up being happier in the long run... either it's a renewed appreciation for my car, or pride in my independence, or new friends. Even when life beats the hell out of me and scissor kicks me in the back of the head, there's always something that makes up for it... eventually. I have this twisted mindset about negative things. If karma is a bitch to those who do bad stuff, karma is really nice to people who don't do bad stuff but who have bad stuff happen to them. Soooo.... if I have a really bad night at work, I'll start thinking "ok, this means I have a really awesome night coming up" and surely enough, it happens. So bring on the bad! I'll just keep adding up my karma points and look forward to the awesomeness that is sure to come.

Call it optimism, call it crazy, I don't really care what you call it. It keeps me from murdering my managers or my boyfriend or my cat or my friends on a daily basis. Cheers to sanity.