The good, the bad and the ugly

"The good, the bad and the ugly" is an expression we are all familiar with. It is used to describe a certain situation and all that comes with it. Have you ever wondered why two synonyms are used to describe the negative aspects and only one to describe the positive? Does that mean life is twice the negative than it is the positive? Why wouldn't we describe situations as "the good, the better & the best" for example? It seems like we have been conditioned to see the world and things happening around us this way. When things are not going the way we want, we are quick to say that they are not working out or going wrong. Having that kind of mindset often hinders us from seeing the good and the blessing, when not the door we knocked on but the one beside it opens. Instead of seeing the opportunity to grow and to bettering ourselves we see it as "we didn't get what we wanted and how we wanted it." But is your way necessarily the right way? A lot of the things that have been accepted by society as being "good" or "bad" are oftentimes just a matter of perspective.

Think about the movie industry for example. They have set the pace for what we consider good and acceptable or bad and not acceptable. The roles of heroes and villains have been clearly defined and assigned accordingly. Before any movie ends we can usually tell who will walk away victoriously as the hero and who will go down as the villain. It is similar with the concept of love and romance. The idea of love is partially also dictated by what happens on the big screen. Great gestures in love scenes has left the wrong impression of what true love really means and entails in the minds of many. The values and standards of society are defined by what we see and what others do. But is that where we should look in regards to what we consider right or wrong? 

What if the hero was the person who didn't walk away but showed love when being rejected. The person who didn't put on a superhero costume to beat up and take revenge on the bad guys but prayed for them and showed compassion. What if the true expression of love was not a bouquet of red roses but just a kind word in the morning? We all choose how we walk through life and how we relate with people and situations. I would rather be the person to see the good in every experience than picking out all the negative things. Situations could also be compared to a drawer full of clothes. Let's assume you open a drawer and see your favorite clothes on one side and the clothes you don't like, that are dull and don't fit properly on the other. Now, would do you drag out the clothes that you dislike and put them on or choose the ones that are beautiful and fit perfectly? I guess the answer to that is pretty straight forward. Then why would we focus on the negative aspects of situations, get angry and think thoughts of negativity when we could use those thoughts to think about how we could make our environment better? Wouldn't you benefit more from thinking about how you could inspire somebody or make an impact? Often the things that upset us or make us angry are so minor that even brooding over those things never result in anything good. Those thoughts only take away valuable time and energy that could have been used in a more efficient way. Also considering that the time we have spent can never be retrieved again.

Don't think about your experiences as being "good, bad and ugly" but as being: "good, better and the best"! Every situation is a blessing in disguise, an opportunity to learn and the chance to positively turn things around.