Good Doesn’t Cancel Out Bad

There is a quote I love from British sci-fi series Doctor Who; The way I see it, life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don’t always spoil the good things or make them unimportant.

Especially in life’s hard times, it can seem silly, even wrong to look for good things, small wins or tiny moments of celebration. It can feel like the good might erase the heaviness, or invalidate it. But the truth is, those small glimmers of good don’t cancel out the hard, heavy times completely. Rather, they might provide a reprieve from that struggle, even if it’s only momentary. Those good times are worth looking for. They’re worth noticing, and celebrating. Staying in struggle can be like getting sucked into a black hole- very hard to get out of. But those small moments of good can act as lights to help us see our way back, so we don’t get completely stuck in darkness.

That dark heaviness too, doesn’t necessarily swallow all the goodness. If bad experiences are darkness, good experiences can be like little lights that allow us to see, or to breathe. The bad things do not lessen the importance of the good things and the good things won’t take over from the bad.

Just like joy can exist alongside sadness, struggle can exist alongside celebration and bad can co-exist with good. The choice to allow both is up to you. So the question is; will you allow joy and celebration to light up darkness? Will you seek out the small moments of goodness and joy? Will you celebrate the tiny things?