Avoiding Misery

We've all known unhappy souls who seem to spend their whole Lives collecting insults and searching for proof that the world is a terrible place full of malevolent ne'er-do-wells. I've met a number of them at work.

"What did he mean by that?" they wonder suspiciously. Often, they shake their heads and offer dire predictions: "This'll end badly for us."

Expecting the worst, that's usually just what they find. Lately, it's been "They're out to screw us, this company. We ought to do whatever we can to screw them first."

My conductor lives and breathes this attitude. And I don't like it.

I'm tired of listening to it, Ms J. I'm tired of hearing him prattle on about how the supervisors are all bastards and they're all out to get him. It's a personal battle, it seems, between him and every manager on the property. It was entertaining at first and I'll admit to being drawn into his whirlwind of worry. Indeed, there have been occasions when I've taken his side and adopted his bellicose attitude, but I suffer for a few hours afterward. I feel anxious, and fearful. Shaky inside. It disturbs the quality of my day. And I come home here then, and pour out my vitriol to you, Ms J. Thanks for being a vessel for my anger. But I'd rather not feel it in the first place.

Life is difficult sometimes, I know. Bad things happen. But surely something positive can be found in every situation. Well, nearly every situation. Sometimes it's hard to see, but it's there if we look hard enough. Maybe the good that will come of this oppressive management style is that senior guys will opt to take their pensions and leave the company. That will make room for younger guys (like me) to advance to better paying assignments.

Life is like a jigsaw puzzle, Ms J. We only see one small piece at a time. Who knows what wondrous things may come from today's troubles? Mould growing in a dish of water became penicillin. The same rain that ruins our shoes, grows our food.

Unhappiness, misery, insult, death, and destruction come to us all, Ms Journal. But so do goodness, beauty, decency, Love, and comfort. We find what we look for.

So I've been avoiding my conductor lately. I say good morning and good night, but try to interact as little as possible in between. I am the architect of my own emotions. And I will not allow anyone's careless or apocalyptic predictions to soil my blueprints.

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