Why I Highlight the Bad Moments

Why I Highlight the Bad Moments

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I write often about the bad moments we all experience. The dark lows, the anxious afternoons, the existential dread. And I suppose that it can read a bit bleak. I highlight all the bad moments, not because I think life is brimming with bad moments, but rather, I think we’re all a little uncomfortable talking about these things. So I write about them to make it normal to discuss them, to even acknowledge that, we do in fact, have shitty moments.

I actually believe that life is far more good than negative. And I don’t mean to say that every day is filled with wonderful news and fantastic achievements and pinchable moments. I think the very high ups are as rare as the very bad lows. Life, for the most part, exists between the highs and lows. And while this is technically a neutral zone, I think it is filled with mostly, albeit quiet, goodness.

The day-to-day-ness of feeling like you’re just about slogging through is what most of life is. Every so often you have a moment of pure joy, or a moment of shattering sorrow. Then it returns to this equilibrium of life. And I think there’s a lot in that quiet part to be grateful for. I don’t think expecting to be happy all of the time is a healthy outlook, because you’ll feel something is wrong every minute you’re not extremely happy, which means you’ll feel this way quite often.

The people on social media who tell you to ‘find your joy’ are full of shit. Because it implies that your joy is to be found somewhere else doing something else. Whereas, in reality, you can find joy at a moment’s notice, exactly where you are now, in the quietness between the highs and lows. Anyone who suggests that you have to be doing certain things to find joy is trying to gatekeep happiness, which is baffling when you think about it.

So while this blog will often highlight those bad moments we can all have, know that this is done to try and prevent you from feeling alone in having those moments. We all have them, and talking about it here helps us to feel less isolated, feel less shameful for having them.

But remember, there are just moments. I know and believe life is mostly good. I’m just trying to make the bad times feel less bad.