Good News, Bad News
So much of life is based on perspective.
It’s that whole glass-half-full-or-half-empty thing. We’re all going to have ups and downs, but the way we choose to view things determines how we experience things.
This morning has been a good news/bad news situation for me.
First, the good news.
Over the last week or so, it’s seemed like my car’s battery has been dying. Each time I’ve gone to start it, it’s taken a little longer to get going than the last.
This has been frustrating on two fronts:
One, because I haven’t had a chance to take my car into get checked, I’ve had to live with the worry that it’s going to give out at the least opportune time in the least desirable place.
And two, less than a year ago, my battery died prematurely, and I had to get it replaced. I’ve been wondering if I got sold two lemons in a row.
Today, when my car wouldn’t start, I was certain I had been.
Fortunately, this happened just after I’d filled up with gas, so I was at a service station.
And not just any service station — the same service station where I’d gotten the last two batteries.
This was perfect. What better place could there be to break down than where your car can be repaired — especially when the repair (logically) should be done for free?
If something had to go wrong, this is how I would’ve drawn it up.
Now, for the bad news…
It took all of about 17 seconds for the mechanic to knock me off my high horse. Or, at least stop me in my tracks.
He told me it was possible this problem wasn’t coming from his battery, but from my car.
The fact that I’d had two batteries die on me within a year could be indicative of a bigger problem. But he’d have to run some tests to know for sure.
And just like that, I wasn’t sure how to feel. Though I’d avoided one disaster, I could now be staring at another.
But as I wait for whatever happens next, it’s helpful to remember that while my wallet might not remain half-full, it’s up to me whether my glass is.
*****
This article originally appeared on 100 Naked Words.