At heart I consider myself a very pessimistic person. Things that we all experience can impact us in various ways and seeing the glass half empty will always be one of them. My best friend always used to tell me, “Hope for the best but expect the worst” and I try to maintain that thought with everything. When things get overwhelming it’s so easy to fall into the fetal position and scroll through your phone for hours, especially right now during a pandemic. Sometimes we go through little events that we don’t genuinely sit and think about. Like walking downtown and seeing a baby hold hands with a parent. We see it and don’t ever think twice about it.
My all time favorite word is ‘Sonder’. There is no distinct definition of it, but there are dozens of videos explaining the feeling. It is closest to the heavy realization that each person has a life as deeply complex and as meaningful as yours. With thoughts and ideas, weaknesses and strengths. When I’m alone in a crowd of people I think about that word often, and I become less afraid of the things going on around me. Everyone is just as scared as you are. Everyone has too much to handle sometimes. The love that kids experience and the gratitude that they have for everything is so pure. When I think about the word sonder from a child’s definition, I think of just pure bliss. That toddler waddling next to his family will always be excited to run outside, to jump viciously through puddles and track mud into the house, think about how excited they are just to sit and play peek-a-boo. Everything is so exhilarating.
Start trying to understand that word and explore it. Being in a state of being pulled down constantly can hurt so badly, but appreciating the tiny happy things like puddles and dogs in T-Shirts or whipped cream on pancakes will improve your mood drastically. Make yourself breakfast? Congrats you DIDN’T burn the house down. The chances were slim but you definitely could’ve done it, and you did not:) Everyone is going through this huge fight of life, emotions, and the roller coaster we were born into. I can just promise that you’re not alone and we are 100% all strapped in this thing together.
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