Silver Lining
It sounds good…” just look for the silver lining in that dark cloud”, “think happy thoughts”.
We as a culture are slowly surfacing from this well of toxic positivity, we are finding freedom within the dark places.
Freedom meaning: the freedom to feel, not free from our present issue or the Mount Everest hovering over us. Finding relationships which allow expression of our gut feelings and emotions, sitting with ourselves and with others in spaces that are mentally draining and uncomfortable, this is where we find our true selves. This is where we notice emotional growth.
Toxic positivity eliminates what we need most during a difficult time: validation, acceptance, and empathy. Toxic positivity is the easy way out to brush past one’s current state, toxic positivity is selfish, and it is unnatural.
I often wonder how certain people sit in their own dark spaces with all the silver linings swirling around them.
Never worked for me, in fact someone pointing out positives usually creates a state of anger and distrust in that person. I want to surround myself with people who will withstand the storm with me, no matter how long that storm may last.
