Lunch at a restaurant with a friend, live and in person. A restaurant with indoor seating, masks are not required for those vaccinated. My God, after the long year of comfort food (not much variety there), takeout (fun from time to time, not all the time), and lusting after Food Network reruns, the trip to the restaurant was more than a welcome event. It was Nirvana.
I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation of the couple behind us. “They don’t have anything I want,” the woman moaned. “I thought you liked salmon,” her friend replied. “Not grilled like that, it’ll be all dry,” the woman said. “Maybe you can ask them to scalp it,” her friend suggested. “Tough luck,” the woman said. “And what about the waiter?” she continued, “we’ve been here at least 15 minutes, and we haven’t seen fur or hair from him since he dumped the water. Which he spilled on the table, by the way, look at that!”
Surely the woman was right, about everything anyway. But what a way to bomb a perfectly good experience! Instead, she could have simply focused on “What’s so good about this picture?” It may not have changed the facts: maybe the restaurant wouldn’t have prepared her salmon any differently, and the waiter hadn’t been at her table in 15 minutes, but it certainly would have changed the woman’s experience of the facts.
We’ll see. It was a restaurant, so there was no food to prepare or dishes to wash. There was an extensive menu so many options beyond salmon. There was a person willing to serve them. The pair were sitting together indoors without masks, meaning they could have enjoyed chatting with each other. They might have appreciated just being out in the world again, considering our last year of pandemic. So much was “correct” with his image.
No matter where you are, no matter how you’re coming out of your COVID-restricted shell, do your best to see “What’s Right With This Picture.” Your job may have suffered, you may have to adapt to new work circumstances. Your kids may be driving you crazy with their bickering over changing school arrangements. You may be worried about what his friends will think of all this pandemic-induced weight he’s gained or lost. You may be confused about how to resume normal dating or family life, and what is normal now anyway?
We are all in this together, more than ever. One thing I know for sure is that we can all benefit from a healthy dose of “What’s right with this picture?” when we look at our changed world, our friends and coworkers, and yes, especially and even ourselves.
