Wow... so many thoughts I often entertain, myself!
In recent years, I have learned to focus more on gratitude for the good things that actually ARE, rather than sadness for what isn't, and that has helped.
What I find more challenging is pushing away the negative feelings about the greater world — wars, poverty, starvation, diseases that kill innocents, people treating each other badly... when you are empathetic, it is not easy to simple let these slide by, unobserved. And yet, I don't have any control over these, so are the negative feelings a wasted emotion?
"Make positive changes where you CAN," I was taught. I can't cure cancer, or end world hunger... so maybe I can just do a good thing, locally.
Thanks for a thoughtful post, again!
And now I realize I've only touched on a small part of the bigger picture. I've been mostly speaking from my personal perspective and recent experiences. I wasn’t even considering the points you brought up. So, I’ll say this…
I need to shift my perspective too. Why should I let these small, trivial issues affect me? Why are they living rent-free in my mind? I should focus on doing good, no matter how small it may be. Or as you said:
And your question:
Well, I’ve been trying to understand this, so I would say: Nope! They aren’t, as long as you learn something from them. I’ve learned that if I try to understand why these feelings are stemming from certain situations, and, if there’s a person involved, what the other person is feeling, I can be more empathetic toward them.
Because in such situations the negativity is bound to be a two-way traffic...