Happy boring happerton

        I’m up on the downside of life.  

        It’s not as bad as it sounds, for the most part.

        Let me expand in a paragraph more than a single sentence.  Because let’s be honest, that’s a pretty generic and boring way to make a point.  I’m not depressed as a person.  I have been accused of being depressing, but that’s completely different.  I just am more interested in life’s valleys.  I think we can all agree that life has it’s ups and downs, and I simply find the downs to be more intellectually stimulating.  

        I’m willing to wager that I’m not in the minority; most people fall into this category to varying degrees.  If you’ve ever read a sad story or watched a movie where the hero dies, you know what I mean.  Most entertainment drama utilizes the downside.  A character dies, or fights for redemption, any revenge story, etc.

        Being happy is actually pretty boring.  Ever notice how every love story ends at the “love” part?  There’s nothing left to tell.  Let’s say that your life is going well, what does that say about you?  Not much.  Let’s say your life isn’t going all that well, what does tell us?  Everything.

        Adversity defines who we are.  How you react to loss defines what kind of person you’re willing to be.  How you deal with a bad situation makes you a different person.  How you react to puppies?  Don’t care at all.  This is a good thing, if you look at it in the right light.

        It’s an opportunity.  The bad stuff is an opportunity to be somebody else, perhaps somebody better.  Maybe it just proves who you really are.  “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade” is an absurdly simplistic but nonetheless somewhat true phrase.  The person you are when life is easy is irrelevant.  We’re all pretty much the same in the good times.  Who you are when you need to be something better is far more interesting.  And if you don’t face that challenge well?  That tells us something too.