Let’s keep it positive

To the editor:

As someone addressing my own version of the difficult times that face the world, I challenge the editorial staff and community at large to maintain a balanced perspective on life, no matter how raw a deal you feel you are receiving from the government, economy, job market, Cupid, your neighbor, etc.

Life is indeed full of uncertainty and hardship, but it is not a zero-sum game. Even in the direst situations, there still are beauty, love, and worth if one consciously chooses to see them.

Should your educated worldview lead you to think there is a problem, and then constructively address its solution via available channels. Do not preemptively disenfranchise yourself by assuming the worst of people and organizations. This serves nobody well, yourself least of all, and contributes to nothing but your own sense of self-alienation.

I have had the opportunities to both call a good place home as well as venture afield to experience how many other people live, what challenges they face, and how they meet those challenges.

There are numerous problems that cross all social and geographical boundaries, but there are just as many creative and resilient ways that people have found to face these issues, or not in many cases. The metaphoric grass could always be greener, or less so, but folks should not take for granted that they have any grass at all.

May this be received with the spirit of encouragement, not condescension, with which it was written.

 Ethan Good
Marion