Day Four: Accentuating the +

Why does the plus sign look like + and the minus sign like – ? Is it because the plus sign cancels the minus sign, or because it is double its value? We assume that – takes things away and that + adds them, but only because we're used to the symbols. Is there a logic to them? I don't know, but the point is they are extremely close. We could have chosen to represent positive/plus as, say, %, and negative/minus as, say, '. Instead, we've chosen symbols that are not only close but are more or less versions of each other. Just ask any battery.

I'd argue this isn't coincidental. We know how close the margin between negative and positive is. Our moods can shift on a dime, the weather can change on the wind and our luck can run out as quickly as it's flowed in.

So it was from yesterday to today. A better mood, more sleep, and people generally feeling better has had me accentuating the positives despite the ongoing quarantine. It's only 10% of the journey now, but to look at it the same way, it's already 10%, and only nine more of these short segments remain.

What's more, the weather here is wonderful, the fresh produce terrific (I have been devouring the tastiest peaches on earth) and the people warm and friendly. There are also unexpected visual pleasures to be found on the frontier, such as old-school shop lettering that lives on despite the changes going around us. An example:

So there it is. Positivity. This is not to say tomorrow might not strip the vertical bar away and everything + becomes –. For now, let me try to keep +ing on. And I leave you with this, from a visit to the vet today: