Today, as I was checking my facebook, I came across someone's status that read: 'Bad is never good until worse happens. - Danish Proverb" The meaning of this proverb was unclear to me at the time, but after some thought, I understood it. I interpreted it to mean that when bad situations occur, they remain bad situations until something worse happens. Then, when something worse occurs, the previous bad situation is considered good since it isn't as bad as the ladder situation. Now, I understand it, but I am still confused by its meaning.
Here is a series of hypothetical situations to match this proverb:
Situation 1: My dog dies. I loved my dog since the day we picked her up at the store. These past weeks have been really hard for her and I've been there as often as I could be. There was nothing I could do though; she was sick and I guess it was just her time to go. I feel completely out of whack. I can't concentrate on school, my job, nor my friends. This sucks!
Situation 2: WOAH! I know I'm not the greatest at math, but damn, am I really this bad? I just got my test back and I completely bombed it! There were 25 questions and I only got 8 correct ! My final grade will definitely take a beating. Unfortunately, it's the end of the semester and there's not much improvement that I am able to make. This completely sucks!
Now, according to the proverb, am I supposed to consider my failing grade a horrible occurrence and the death of my dog a good one? To me, the proverb is wrong because I would still consider the death of my dog bad and my failing grade worse, but that doesn't make the death a good thing ! Maybe I am thinking too hard on this simple proverb, but I am curious as to what the author was thinking when this was written. Any suggestions?
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What I take from the quote is you should not look at your situation as the worst situation because there is worse out there. Using your example, it is an awful situation for your dog to die. However, you should be grateful your family still has good health. There is always a positive in a negative situation. You just have to look for it. In the end, life is not about what happens to you but how you respond to the problems that arise.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, the author of that proverb just wants people to have a more optimistic outlook on life.
That is so true because it ties along with the saying that you take things for granted until they are gone. The same way you start to appreciate that thing that you took for granted before it was gone, you start to appreciate the fact that the "bad" situation wasn't really that bad after all when you experience something worse.
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