Van Ree's Voice

We all have those little things in life that we dread but have to put up with anyways.

I asked my dad what I should write about this week and he answered simply, “dentist visits.”

I inquired as to whether he had had one that day and he replied that he hadn’t but that he just hated them.

He then continued, “we all have those things in life that we despise, but those little things are also what balance us.”

I agreed with him. I think knowing that life isn’t always perfect oralways happy is good for us in a way.

We live for the moments that are good but without the bad what would determine those good moments from everyday life?

Although we may hate things in life such as dentist and doctor visits, the common cold, rotten leftovers you forgot about, losing a sport event or being lied to –it’s all a part of living, and without understanding both good and bad events we wouldn’t truly understand the reasonswhy we tolerate the bad.

The reason why we put ourselves through the motions of bad and miserable events in my opinion is because of a dream we give ourselves.

We all have the dream of an ideal life that we will have for ourselves one day. Though most of us will never have everything we want or not have to go through the things we in fact despise, we all have hope that in the end every little bad thing that happens to us will be overweighed by the joy we will experience.

I cling to a quote by Solbeam, “Fall in love or fall in hate. Get inspired or be depressed. Ace a test or flunk a class. Make babies or make art. Speak the truth or lie and cheat. Dance on tables or sit in the corner. Life is divine chaos. Embrace it. Forgive yourself. Breathe. And enjoy the ride…”

Life has ups and downs and you can’t take all the bad out of it. Sometimes you can choose what happens to you or what path you take, but most of the time life can take you by surprise and your world can be changed unexpectedly.

It’s how you deal with that change that defines you. You can take the bad, realize that it’s part of life and move on or dwell on unfortunate situations and let that affect your life’s performance.

Possibly one of my favorite quotes of all time is one from the late Kurt Cobain.

“I have a daughter who reminds me too much of what I used to be, full of love and joy, kissing every person she meets because everyone is good and will do her no harm. And that terrifies me to the point to where I can barely function,” he said.

Those who do not understand the pros and cons of life can live not just a sheltered life but also a dangerous and naïve one.

Like my father said, the balance of good and bad in life is what keeps us on course and understanding the true meaning of our life’s destination.

To be naïve and think that you will enjoy every day of your life may be like I said before, a nice and unrealistic dream. But also it can lead those who believe such things into a never-ending spiral of disappointment.

Knowing that you have a dentist appointment tomorrow or you have to receive a shot at the doctor’s office may leave your mind slightly unsettled, but you can also realize that these little pains that come and go are worth the bigger picture. In those cases it will create a healthier life for yourself and allow you to follow your dreams.

The little pains that you put up with in life reflect the balance that comes with living and if you dwell too much on the negatives you forget how great your life is and has the potential to be.

But at the same time if you dwell on all the positives you can find yourself under a heap of failed future expectations of a perfect life.

I believe that understanding the balance is what makes life beautiful.

Hannah Van Ree can be contacted at [email protected].