GOLD ISN’T REFINED IN THE FRIDGE.

Remember; I wrote about Eddie a few days ago. 

Once he and I were going opposite directions in the middle of the Rotunda into which prison cellhouses opened. As we passed, I asked, “How’s it going, Eddie?” I still laugh at his response.

“O-o-h, I can’t complain.  …  DAMN IT!”

“Can’t complain?” Really, now, we all COULD complain, but that would entangle us in a world wide web of negativity.

There ARE times for negativity, but far fewer than we usually find. 

At the prison, it was critical to be skeptical of everything; whether from inmates or the Warden. Even prison staff has been arrested for falling into a trap when they weren’t skeptical. There were many positive points about my work, but if I hadn’t been so disbelieving even they could have turned into nightmares.

I’m negative when buying cars. I don’t want salespeople along on the test drive. I don’t want to hear THEM. I want to hear the car telling me what I would likely want to complain about if I owned it. The sales pitch will mask that story.

But, life isn’t always like that.

I have far fewer opportunities for complaint than for praise. A list of things I COULD complain about wouldn’t take 200 words; unhappy childhood, distressed family of origin, violence in the home, time and opportunities lost and/or stolen, betrayal by those I thought to be friends, a broken neck 18 years ago. I know that each item could be, and has been, cause for far more verbosity than you will read here, but no amount of bitching ever changed anything.

On the other hand, my praise opportunities would take tens of thousands of words.

I’m certainly not the first and I won’t be the last one experiencing problems. That’s nothing new, and I have no grand insight from any of it.

SO; why do I write about it?

Actually, no grand insight is part of why I want to write; to assure everyone (including myself) that when things go wrong it is literally “nothing new under the sun.” Others have been this way before, and if we choose we can learn from them; growing through our adversity.

Many will follow, and just maybe what I say will help, or comfort at least one of them.

If we persevere, we all come out the better from adversity. No one comes through without pain and cuts and bruises; and a LOT of heat; but the journey is worth it. In fact, we need to learn to rejoice when adversity comes.

When things get hot and painful, remember; 

GOLD ISN’T REFINED IN THE FRIDGE.