I had a special moment today, a moment when I really saw people as people. I was driving my moped home from positive psychology and I paid more attention to every person I passed, and what was so remarkable, is that literally every single person I saw looked so happy! Every single one was either smiling or laughing. It kind of blew my mind.

The French novelist Anaïs Nin famously said, ““We see the world not as it is, but as we are.” So maybe what I was noticing today was a reflection of who I was today. Steven Covey added “or as we are conditioned to see it.” So maybe it had something to do with me leaving my positive psychology class. I was happy. I still am happy.

This also makes me think of my philosophy class from last semester. In one of the lectures we talked about the lens in which we view life. He gave the following thought experiment:

• Imagine someone getting slapped in the face
• Now imagine it’s in a drama
• Now imagine it’s in a comedy

Isn’t it interesting how the exact same action can be perceived completely differently depending on how you’re looking at it.

My little sisters and I talked about this as we were hiking up Rock Canyon. We talked about how difficult this winter has been for some people due to the endless snow and cold weather. The few short hours of sun and warmth are quickly removed by the next storm moving in. With a lot of perspectives, this is worst case scenario. But for the skier, it’s paradise.

Same circumstances, completely different stories.

Also while hiking up Rock Canyon we kept saying, “guys, it’s so pretty!” The snow was lightly falling, the lighting was spectacular, and the soft new snow made everything as peaceful as the perfect Christmas Eve.

There was probably several other people saying, “guys, are you kidding?? It’s snowing again, ugh.”

Same circumstances, completely different stories.