Brenda’s Blog – December 16, 2025
“Never lose the good of a bad experience.” Those words were spoken to me by Dad after a difficult time at work and a long whine by me. It took me a minute to change gears and think about what he said to me.
How right he was! Since then I have had many, many opportunities to practice his wisdom. His statement wasn’t just “happy talk.” It required me to analyze the situation, seriously consider the experience and then break out the good from the bad. Sometimes the good continued to show up later, but I stayed open to its arrival.
He used to also tell us, “The things you cry about today you will laugh about tomorrow.” I must admit this sage advice takes a bit longer to fully mature. But as I age and look back (far back for a few situations) I see the truth.
He never offered unrequested advice, but asked questions to find what he called the “key log.” Apparently, in the logging industry often then enormous tree lengths were sent down river to the mills. Occasionally, they would jam and be stuck. Trained loggers would take a position above the river and look for the source of the jam. Then those on the river would loosen the “key log” and allow the smooth flow to continue. He would help me find the key log which was jamming up my thinking, creating chaos in my life, or just allowing me to feel stuck. His questions then served to help me see it and “blow it out of the water.”
Funny, but often I will be making decisions and I think of those questions. I even think of his response sometimes. No, I don’t hear voices, but years of hearing him talk to me and many others (especially during the 7 years he lived with me in my house) I have a mental template for his thinking.
The next time your plane is delayed five hours, or a traffic accident keeps you parked on the interstate for two hours… Work hard to find the good in the bad experience.