Negativity

I don't get it.  Truly do not understand it.

I understand the grumbly negativity of complaining about other drivers, or when your bread is too soggy at Panera, or when the gelato place closed 5 minutes ago and it just took 15 minutes to walk there because you managed to miss the green light at every street.  That's not base negativity, that's annoyance more than anything else.  Little minor inconveniences, but not great catastrophes, nothing that will effect life in the grand scheme of things.

The negativity that I don't understand is the type that people allow themselves to be dragged down into, and seem to stay in by choice.  It's the type that, when life sucks, they keep finding more things that suck.  When they can't afford groceries, they also worry that the car might break down.  You know, it might, but there's not a single thing that dwelling in it can change.  No ones' fan belt has even held on until then next paycheck because they were thinking about it, knitting their brow lying in bed late at night.  It all seems to spin into this death spiral of despair, and they seem to ignore every opportunity to pull themselves out.

Are there times that things in life are tough? Of course there are.  But what is the point of of constantly dragging ones' self down once they are?  When you're broke, go for a walk, ride your bike, read a book, go to the beach.  None of that costs money, and gets your mind off all the other crap going on.  If money is short...well,then it's short.  You accept the fact that it's going to be a rice and beans, lots of reading month.  You don't peruse travelocity for tickets to somewhere else, don't look up concerts or movies or exotic cuisine, because you're only going to frustrate yourself and feel worse.  You go through your bookshelf and find the books you've been meaning to read since the beginning of the year, and you relish that you're now going to have time to read them.  You pull out that copy of The Four Ingredient Cookbook, and you find a few to try that don't sound too bad.  You have friends over for a beer, instead of going out, and you start working through some of those wine bottles rather than buying new ones.  You go for walks, and realize how nice it really is to slow down and walk in the evening in the late summer.

You accept the stuff that's a bummer, and then leave it back there and move on with the good.