Accentuate the positive

One day you're going to be dead a long time.

Prologue. The photograph above was taken about 43 years ago at about 5 am from a narrow ledge at the top of “The Diamond,” a wall at about 13,000 feet on the East Face of Longs Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park. It was incredibly cold - and at least a quarter of an inch of verglas covered everything - including parts of us. Our ropes were frozen to the wall and we were nearly out of food and energy. It was the most uncomfortable bivouac ever (at least up until that time). This was the cumulation of a touch and go couple of days on an alpine big wall in terrible weather. But what I remember about this, more than the uncertainty and suffering, was how wonderful it was watching the sun come up that morning.

“You've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch onto the affirmative, don't mess with Mister in Between.” – Johnny Mercer

This morning I posted on Facebook: “Good morning world! It's going to be a kick-ass great day.” Within 20 minutes I had to scroll down to get to the end of the comments. Though I knew the lay of the land before the responses rolled in, it's more evidence in support of the proposition that most of us view the world as a glass that's at least half full.

I have been a newspaper columnist and an author of magazine articles and books for decades. Some of that involves writing about things that are as serious as a heart attack. When it's time to call a spade a spade, that's what you have to do – though I take no particular joy in doing so.

It's very difficult to be light-hearted about the dismal state of the media, the current precipitous decline of science and education, the rancid piles of BS that constitute the political left and right in America, idiotic social, political and economic policies that ignore most of reality to concentrate on what amounts to, generously, very small parts of it. All of that is very real, it's just not all that there is.

All of the whining, carping, moaning and complaining that goes with the here and now can get on top of anyone – but only if you let it. I maintain now, as I have always, that the world is a wonderful place if you can manage to view it through the lens of thanking your lucky stars for what you do have - namely time above ground – while ignoring everything else that you can.

Every morning that you awake without serious illness or some looming catastrophe and with your family and friends intact, meets every definition that I know of a good day. Every day you are above ground is the day that you can potentially meet your soul mate, begin the great American novel, learn to play your favorite song, do something special for your family or friends. Every new day you have another chance to make someone's day. If, that is, you aren't to busy being a pain-in-the-ass.

One of my favorite things about the modern age is social media. Yeah, there are things that I don't like about it either. But like most things, social media is a mixed bag. One day someone will use the Mozilla model to create social media platforms that do away with the commercialism and ginning up controversy for profit that's nearly ubiquitous right now. But even within the existing social media sphere, I see at least as much good as I do bad.

I really like wishing everyone happy birthday every morning when birthdays come up on my feeds. I really like the slices of life that I see from thousands of you who are out there living you best lives. I have a friend who posts wonderful sunrise and sunset photos from Hawaii every day. I see hundreds of you having fun with your families and friends. Just this morning I saw a photo of vintage VW Beetle that was restored by a friend, with his little girl sitting in the front seat. That little girl has quite a treat ahead of her as her father explains what VW Beetles were all about and drives her around in one. That's window into the past stuff right there.

I see, courtesy of social media, friends playing music, I see photographs and other art, I see the human works of art called children that many of you have produced. I see friends riding bicycles and motorcycles or hiking and climbing in the mountains. I see people enjoying a glass of wine on their birthday at a nice bodega. I see holiday celebrations and ball games. If all of that is not joyful and to be celebrated, I don't know what is.

I just followed a friend of mine through daily posts as he rode his bicycle across the country. That had to be good for him as well – knowing that hundreds of us were cheering his daily progress (and bemoaning the omnipresent headwinds that he encountered).

Those are the things that I choose to spend most of my attention on. But evidently not everyone sees things that way.

Though misery knows no particular boundaries, it seems to be, sadly, especially prevalent among the young. One of the problems that has resulted from the malpractice involved in raising several generations children who grew up to be entitled, humorless adults is whining that almost never stops. A good number of the people that I know under 40 spend most of their time acting like someone just shot their dog. What the heck? Snap out of it.

My parents and grandparents lived through the Great Depression and two world wars. My generation lived through Vietnam, the Cold War, political strife and some brutal economic times. Yet all of us could be deliriously happy with the right song on the radio. Things have come a long way since then. But unless you learn to accentuate the positive, you're likely go through life unhappy, despite modern wonders, until it's too late to do anything about it.

As Greg Stump famously said at the end of the ski film Blizzard of Aahhh's, “There's a whole world of “aahhh's” out there.”

Go find some.

Associated Press and Idaho Club award-winning columnist Martin Hackworth of Pocatello is a physicist, writer and retired Idaho State University faculty member who now spends his time with family, riding mountain bikes and motorcycles and playing guitars. His writing on Substack, “Howlin' at the Moon in ii-V-I” may be found at martinhackworth.substack.com