Is There a Sunny Side of the Street?

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I have the habit of singing to myself, humming or whistling as I go about my daily routine. Sometimes, a song gets “stuck” in my brain and is hard to get out.

This appears to be fairly common. I’ve learned from the Internet that there’s even a name for it. Such a song or tune is called an “earworm.” My earworms are musical pieces from a wide variety of musical types, including classical, music from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and post-millennium, Gregorian chant and other churchy music and Hispanic music, especially from Colombia and Mexico.

I know some people think singing, humming and whistling is weird, but it beats having negative or violent thoughts and it contributes to my happiness. And yes, mindless whistling, especially, can be irritating but I try not to do it around others, except for my wife, Amparo. And bless her, she tolerates it.

Stayed in my Brain

Recently, for some unknown reason, a song popular from my childhood popped into, and stayed, in my brain. I never particularly liked the song, so I don’t know why I kept singing and humming it. It’s called “The Sunny Side of the Street,” and its chorus goes like this:

Grab your coat and get your hat, leave your worries on the doorstep. Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street.

“How Pollyannaish!” some would say. “How unrealistic and naïve!” And that brings up the question, “Is it possible that many of us have lost our belief in the “sunny side of the street?” Are we so bummed by the constant parade of bad news that we consider ourselves and our world irredeemable?

Such a feeling is understandable. First, there’s the pandemic, TV pictures of people ignoring it and predictions that it may not be under control for months. Then there’s the economy; the question about the schools; about whether sports will happen; about whether there will be a vaccine and whether people will be willing to get it; the upcoming election; the terrible fires in several states, the threat of “derechos,” tornados and hurricanes, and the seemingly unsolvable problems of so many people, especially the poor, around the world.

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Unless you have your head in the sand, everything seems pretty bleak.

The key word, of course, is “seems” because most of us still have family, friends, nature, accomplishments and relationships with good people in health care, education, retail, religious groups, and yes, even politics. Then there’s music, art, sports, reading, some wonderful things to see on the Internet and even TV, and food and drink.

Reality is seldom as bleak as it seems. And faith adds a whole other dimension to life, providing reason to be hopeful and optimistic.   

My favorite psalm, 90 in Catholic Bibles, says that believers can “say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust,’” having confidence that “he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge.”

Skeptics may be tempted to say that this is simply wishful thinking. God doesn’t intervene in pandemics or any other problem or crisis. We’re simply on our own.

Seeing Things Differently

But if “we walk by faith, not by sight,” as Paul suggests, we see things differently, and there’s good reason to have faith. We don’t know the extent to which God intervenes directly in human affairs, but I believe he/she can and, on occasion, does. And we’re assured that God gives us the human resources to deal with whatever comes our way.

And I believe God provides us with various ways of dealing with crises and the stress it brings. God has given me, for instance, the gift of enjoying music and making my own by singing, humming, whistling and even playing (badly) a couple of instruments.

To access the sunny side of the street, we may have to do some re-thinking, and pray, to discover our gifts and those of people around us.