I hardly ever write about hopelessness. I generally prefer to leave that to others. But I saw the mmost magnificent example of hopelessness, and it seemed that I ought to record it.
I shared a tiny meeting room with a few others. It was a chilly autumn day, the kind that tends to show itself in rooms where the heating system has failed to respond to the change of season. “It’s cold in here,” said Mary.
“Yes it is,” said Louise. “I’ll report it to the receptionist.”
When the meeting was over, we emerged into the toasty warm reception area. Louise walked up to the desk. “The heating isn’t working in that room,” she said.
“Oh,” said the receptionist.
“I think it needs to be fixed,” said Louise.
“Oh, they don’t fix things around here,” said the receptionist.
“It really is too cold to work in there,” said Louise.
“If I called,” said the receptionist, “they wouldn’t come. It took me a week to get a light switch changed.”
1 comment:
Interesting that the receptionist perceived that waiting a week to have the light switch fixed translates to: "They don't fix things around here".
Sometimes hopelessness tricks us into thinking that our situation is worse than it is. After all, the light switch did get fixed so I guess "they [do] fix things around here", after all!
Even if it takes effort, having a hopeful perspective can not only help us have positive feelings about an issue, isn't it interesting that it might also help us to see things more accurately - as they truly are.
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