I once heard a comedian talking about our current use of the name Einstein, and how we always use it sarcastically. “Nice parking job, Einstein.”
It’s true when you think about it. We never say honestly, “Well done. That’s a great concept; you remind me of Einstein.”
In fact, I’m reading a book right now called the Einstein Effect, and it’s all about how his genius is involved in so many of our technologies today and how there are loads of quotes erroneously attributed to him.
Strangely enough, I started reading about Albert Einstein because I read somewhere else that he was quoted as questioning whether the universe was friendly or hostile. Turns out it wasn’t his question either, but it did start me pondering it.
This line of thinking actually started several years ago as I was leaving a grocery store, and a man who worked there gave me a dozen red roses. They couldn’t sell them for some reason, and he thought I might enjoy them. A couple of other really nice but unusual things happened that day, and I remember thinking what if we lived life as if the universe were courting us instead of out to get us which is the way we usually view it.
After the little dark rain cloud that has followed us into the new year, I’ve wondered if it were indeed more the opposite, and the universe is conspiring against us. Please know that none of the occurrences have been catastrophic, but this year the sheer number of things that have gone awry has been a little overwhelming.
A couple of Saturdays ago I realized it must be more about balance. I had an amazing day. I met a friend for thrifting, and we found some pretty unusual treasures. Walking out of the building, we saw a tiny street fair to poke around. Strolling by on a beautiful warm Saturday, we ran into another friend, had lunch outside at an Irish pub, and later I went to improv practice, where I spent two hours straight laughing. Then there was just enough time to get ready and see a wonderful middle school play.
Was it really a perfect day or did it seem more perfect juxtaposed with all the less-than-stellar days lately? Is the light actually brighter when we’ve been in the dark? Is playing hooky better because I’ve been so busy lately? I’ve always heard that if we were never sick, we wouldn’t appreciate our good health.
I think there’s probably a lot of wisdom in that, but I think I will try my best to pay attention to the good stuff and hopefully dodge that blasted little dark cloud altogether.
