Of Murphy and his minions

Everyone has heard of Murphy and his laws. There was an article I read quite some time back about some guy who theorized that these laws are formed out of the basic human tendency to retain memory of unpleasant events longer than that of pleasant events. He actually took the trouble to prove that a slice of buttered toast does not, in fact, have any greater or lesser probability of landing buttered side down than it does of landing the other way. In his laboratory experiment it was conclusively shown that the toast has an equal probability of landing either way.

I don't know what you gathered from all this. Maybe you are thinking how completely wilful and free this guy must have been to go ahead and conduct such an unprofitable experiment. But what I gathered from this was that we are rapidly turning into a pessimistic and cynical species. And I guess this does reflect some pessimism on my part, doesn't it?

But seriously, we all think about the stuff that goes wrong in our lives, but how often do we remember to be thankful for and to appreciate everything that goes right? Do you even notice if there are birds chirping away gleefully outside your window early in the morning? But if some of their dropping falls on your favourite shirt, you'd certainly crib about the damn birds outside your house. Don't we all need to learn to appreciate the little things in life, the good things, the stuff that makes us happy, if only we take the time to appreciate it? There are probably a hundred things in my life that are not going the way I want them to. But then, there are a thousand things that are. I have a great family, a devoted mother, a whole bunch of amazing friends, a terrific job... but I tend to focus on the ways in which my brother irritates me, the disagreements with my mom, and the fact that most of my closest friends are dispersed in cities far away from here. But I think that I've taken a step in the right direction by coming to terms with this realization. And we all need to take a few steps in that direction on a regular basis. It's one of the grand essentials of a healthy, happy life.