Bad feelings Quote by Lydia Davis
““What was happening to them was that every bad time produced a bad feeling that in turn produced several more bad times and several more bad feelings, so that their life together became crowded with bad times and bad feelings, so crowded that almost nothing else could grow in that dark field. But then she had a feeling of peace one morning that lingered from the evening before spent sewing while he sat reading in the next room. And a day or two later, she had a feeling of contentment that lingered in the morning from the evening before when he kept her company in the kitchen while she washed the dinner dishes. If the good times increased, she thought, each good time might produce a good feeling that would in turn produce several more good times that would produce several more good feelings. What she meant was that the good times might multiply perhaps as rapidly as the square of the square, or perhaps more rapidly, like mice, or like mushrooms springing up overnight from the scattered spore of a parent mushroom which in turn had sprung up overnight with a crowd of others from the scattered spore of a parent, until her life with him with be so crowded with good times that the good times might crowd out the bad as the bad times had by now almost crowded out the good. ””
About This Quote
Source Short story: “The End of the World” by Lydia Davis, 1995
Positive experiences can compound, creating a feedback loop that outweighs negativity over time.
In simple terms: Good moments build more good moments.
Cultivate and cherish positive interactions.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- marriage
- longterm partnerships
- friendships
- team dynamics
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What daily habits can you and to nurture good times?
- How do you break a negative feedback loop?
Positive cycles can be fragile and require conscious effort to maintain.