Greetings from Goodwell in the Oklahoma Panhandle! I’m Marjory Hall with a BookByte for the Radio Reader’s Series. Words are important. The words we use reflect how we perceive the world and how we react to it. We can choose whether that perception is positive and accepting or negative, rejecting people and experiences without really giving them much consideration. That can be a problem. C. S. Lewis was famous for his conviction that every choice a person makes has some effect on that person, either hardening their hearts or reinforcing love. In his novel The Great Divorce, Lewis wrote that “‘[n]o soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find’" (75). By the same token, a person who seriously and constantly seeks negativity or discord will always find it. These were the thoughts that came to my mind as I read Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh, but I’m pretty sure that was not the response the author intended.
When I was growing up, there was someone in my life whose consistent reaction to events and people was negative. In every trivial, anonymous interaction she perceived an insult or some evidence of the stranger’s inferiority. In every small inconvenience, she perceived a personal attack. When I was eight or nine, a man came to our home to repair an appliance in the kitchen. I was sitting at the table eating my lunch, and the man drew me into conversation, asking questions about school and the book I was reading, all the common material of small talk. In my attempt to sound grown up, I copied the negative, complaint-filled conversation I so often witnessed.
The man asked me, “What’s your favorite subject in school?”
I immediately responded, “Not math, I hate math.”
Later the man inquired if I had read a particular book.
Again, my response was “No, I hate books like that.” Later, I made a comment about how I hated a particular television show.
Having finally had his fill of my attitude, the man gently said to me, “You know, we’ve been chatting for a little while, and I’ve learned about a whole lot of things that you hate. “What in the world do you like?”
I immediately, and for the first time, heard myself from someone else’s perspective, and I was mortified. The man was absolutely right. I had no alternative but to recognize that my conversation was filled with negativity, even in response to things I knew nothing about.
I realize that Hyperbole and a Half is meant to be funny, but every page sounded to me like that little girl who had no idea how mean-spirited and unloving she sounded. This book was not my cup of tea, but I’m happy that I read it because it reminded me of the kindness of that gentleman from my past who provided me with insight into how my words sounded to other people.
It’s so easy to let the difficulties of life color one’s world view. Life can be seen as an infinite series of opportunities to choose happiness, but one should never forget that those who seriously and constantly seek unhappiness will always find it.
REFERENCE
Lewis, C.S. The Great Divorce. (1946) Harper Collins, 2001.
