“Breathe, it’s just a bad day, not a bad life.” -Unknown
This is the exact type of cliche quote that kick starts my day. These words have been repeated by many far and wide. You see it all over social media, even on Macklemore’s Twitter page. Yet the author is unknown, so what did he really intend when he wrote these famous words?
Once in a while, we all become overwhelmed with the world around us. Whether it be globally or on a personal level, there are moments in which we question our existence. There are days where we just want to give up in life; there’s no room to think and everything seems to be spinning on all sides of our heads. That’s when a quote like this can accord us some kind of comfort. When we feel as though life has enclosed us, we forget to just breathe. Now, breathing does have its scientific benefits, but it helps us to remember. It helps us to remember that even though we may have our moments in life – those moments that make us just want to turn our heads upside down – there is an infinite number of smiles life sends our ways.
Do you remember that time where you laughed so hard that you sat there with no sound coming out your mouth and you couldn’t breathe, or maybe that time you made a perfect score on a subject that you were struggling in? Well, those moments are what make your life what it is. Just like your negative actions don’t always define who you are as a person, your bad days don’t define what your life is. It’s always important to recall that as long as we are humans and live in a world in which people, good and bad, there will be ups and downs.
There will be that person who says the wrong thing at the wrong time, even the right thing at the wrong time. There will never lack a day where those moods will literally swing all over the place, but you must never forget to breathe. It does not define what your life is worth. The good days will always add up to weigh more than the bad ones because when we sit down and think, the only memories that truly come to mind are the good ones. Unless you’re a character in one of Danielle Steel’s books, then when someone asks you about your life, you tell them the good days. Not the bad ones.
Why is that? Because when you have a bad day, you know that it doesn’t define it all. This quote is more of a reminder to do the thing that we subconsciously do when we don’t think about it. So, when you’re sitting in your bed at night and you just experienced the truth behind Murphy’s Law all day, take a deep breath in and out, letting all the burdens of the bad day go out along with it. As you close your eyes, remember the good life that you were blessed with.
While you may have several bad days, you ultimately have a good life.