A note on another old adage

Following on from my earlier musings on old sayings, another one which came to mind today was one I'm sure you're familiar with: every cloud has a silver lining. For those of you who haven't come across it, it basically means that every bad situation in your life has some positive aspect about it. Like the earlier example, this too is said far too often with far too little thought. In fact, it strikes me that there are a very many sayings supposed to make miserable people chipper that more often than not only serve to annoy them, but I digress.

I don't think I need to go into too much depth analysing the saying. The premise is fairly simple, and seems reasonable enough, that nothing is ever all bad (and I agree with that). Some people seem to take it to an odd extreme, however, and wander through their lives with inane grins, seeing nothing but argentian skies. They seem especially fond of telling others that every cloud has a silver lining, no matter what should have befallen them. Then there are those who trudge their way through life grim and depressed, sure that the sky is blocked out by heavy rain clouds, and any silver lining is merely lightning in the distance. I don't think I need to say that these people are equally as right as the other lot, in the sense that they are not at all.

If you ask my opinion, and since you're reading this I assume you do, then there aren't really any clouds and nor are there any silver linings. If things are looking bleak, it's probably because you're looking down at your own shadow. If things are looking overwhelmingly peachy, you may be staring up at the sun. As always, the key lies in the mean; keep your eyes level, focussed, forward and un-wandering, and you will see what is.