Avoiden was a Middle English word which meant to escape from harm. Often, we think of that definition when first contemplating the meaning of this word, avoid. Because of the 'harm' element and the idea of escaping something unpleasant, there is a cloud of negativity surrounding the word. However, could we possibly place it in a positive light?
Two negatives equal a positive. So I've come up with three "Nevers"---as in "never avoid" ideas; these ideas, perhaps, lead to a more healthy approach and perspective when facing the darkened, daily, hen house of life.
One. Never avoid anything that can make you smile. Seek out simple pleasures that prompt a smile, even if it's momentary. I enjoy watching animal videos on social media. Watching the unencumbered frolicking or recoveries of cats and dogs bring a sense of comfort, and even if it is just for a minute or two, I find myself clicking off the site with a smile. Virginia Woolf said, "You cannot find peace by avoiding life." I think smiling can grant a magical power of momentary peace, and a scintilla of joy.
Two. Never avoid being truthful and honest with yourself and others. The path of least resistance usually comes in the form of hedging or sidestepping the 'hurting' part of the truth when dealing with the facts or reality about ourselves. It is one thing to duck from an honest endeavor with excuses, but it's another thing to refrain from being aware of our frailties or weaknesses and not doing anything to improve or change for the better. Benjamin Franklin said, "How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them."
Three. Never avoid the opportunities to tell people how much they mean to you. On one hand, this is rather easy for me, on another, it is difficult. I have written letters to those important in my life, like former teachers, and lavished them with words of gratitude and appreciation for the significance that their influence has had on me. However, with people in your life on a daily basis, it's seems safer to just avoid certain words. Or, if a gap through time and space has flourished throughout the years unchallenged, then again, it's easier to avoid a rehashing or a drudging up of old wounds. This, indeed, is most challenging.
I was watching the last episode of "Grey's Anatomy" and the narrator, through the story, was commenting on the importance of reconnecting...or not. At the end of the show, (I'm paraphrasing) it went something like this: 'We lose our words because our stakes are so high and we have so much to lose...we're petrified at saying too much, saying it wrong...truth is, the truly wrong thing is saying nothing at all.'