One walk and two?signs

This is the story of one walk, two signs, and soundwaves.

I recently went for a walk in the Jackson Frazier Wetland in Corvallis, Oregon. As you can see from the picture below, this wetland is known as “a haven for birds.” Not long into the walk I stopped near a viewpoint where signs would typically describe the area and the wildlife you can expect to see if you were to slow down and look around.

The signs were missing, but as you can see from the photo, they are rebuilding the park’s boardwalk and creating new signs. Sounds great!

But I was struck by the words at the bottom of the notice.

In a moment I went from enjoying a beautiful walk to feeling disappointment that people would cause destruction in an area of beauty. There’s nothing there to protest, no cause. Just destruction.

I continued walking but I was no longer observing the beauty of the wetland. I was thinking about the sign and about all the negativity I’ve seen over the last few years. In an instant my mood changed. It’s funny how that can happen?—?and so quickly?—?when you’re exposed to something negative.

Then, not far down the path, I saw a new sign that was a dedication of love to a person and to the place where I was walking. It made me realize that despite the negativity, there is much to appreciate and love all around us. There is the option of seeking out the beauty and the good.

I don’t know Jane or her story. All I know from this placard is that she unfortunately passed at the age of 45 years old (my current age) and that “she loved this place.”

When I came upon this memorial, it struck me how different this sign was from the one I had just encountered with the concern of vandalism. How different people can experience the same beautiful place in such vastly different ways.

I suspect that the people who vandalized the signs and Jane were all struggling in some way. Motives for vandalism can be varied. Maybe it was just boredom or maybe it was something deeper. And for Jane to die at such a young age either meant an accident or perhaps a struggle with health issues. I can’t really know in either case.

The deeper question that I thought about for the rest of my walk was this: how might we choose to react positively to our situation even if we’re all dealing with struggles?

But first I want to get a little nerdier and talk about soundwaves. Please note that I’m not an expert on sound, so if I’m wrong on some details please let me know. Or just ignore it because I’m just making an analogy and you’re probably overthinking it.

Sound travels in the form of waves with peaks and valleys. These waves are produced by fluctuations in air pressure triggered by the vibration of objects. These waves are funneled into our ears where our eardrums vibrate and send the vibrations into three small bones in our middle ears. Lots of other interesting things happen with the end result being that electrical signals are sent to our brain and we decode the signals.

There are two interesting properties of these soundwaves that I want to talk about here. The first is that sound waves can be added together. If you’ve ever cheered on your favorite team in a stadium full of loud fans, you know this. Many voices together massively amplify sound.

The second is about how active noise cancelation (ANC) works in headphones. It works by generating an inverse of the waves coming into the phones. Because waves are added together, a wave and its inverse will cancel each other out. If we could implement this perfectly, then you could completely silence loud noises.

What does this have to do with my walk and the signs that I saw?

There are real struggles we all face, and those struggles are amplified by people who opportunistically prey on our negative feelings. They use it to sell outrage, and it definitely sells. They use it to get elected to office and promise they will fix our problems. The media amplifies this 24x7 and so does social media.

Why? Because it’s so easy to do nothing but lament our situation. To add our voice and see the sound waves multiplied together. After all, if everyone is singing the same note?—?even if it’s offkey?—?then it feels like we’re part of the same choir. The harmony and reverberation feels good, even if it’s discordant. And it’s quite powerful.

It’s much more difficult to be a positive voice in the face of struggle. To create an inverse of the negative waves and cancel them out. But it’s infinitely more inspiring. It feels so much better to embrace the positive.

And guess what? A single positive voice can cancel a negative one, and a chorus of positive voices can drown them out. All we have to do is to join with the people who are pushing for positive change. They’re literally all over the place if you look around. They may not get as much attention, but they’re there. They are the people volunteering in your community. The people who are trying to make things better at your workplace. The people who dedicate their lives to helping others. Who show up when there’s a natural disaster. They may not be the loudest voices, but they’re creating positive waves.

So when you’re exposed to negativity, no matter where it comes from, counter it with positivity. Ask what we’re going to do to solve the problem rather than complain about it. Take some action.

I don’t always live up to the standard I set for myself. I’ve fallen victim to the negativity just like everyone else. Just look at what happened on my walk. It’s almost impossible to stay positive given our shared struggles. But it’s not the way I want to live. I choose optimism and positive action and I hope you’ll join me. Together, we can all “love this place” like Jane and create something of beauty that will last.