“We notice the good in people we love, not the bad”
This quote was from an email from one of Amy Krause Rosenthal’s friends, Brooke Hummer. She wrote this quote about clothes, actually.
Amy made it her mission to have a minimalist wardrobe for a year, and absolutely hated it. As a lover of clothes and fashion myself, I can’t imagine only wearing the same outfit every day for a while, let alone an entire year.
Her minimalist wardrobe had an anticlimactic end to it, however: no one even noticed. While Amy felt miserable wearing the same outfit, wondering what other people thought of her while she wore the same grey pants and black shirt, no one even noticed, not even her best friends.
Her friend, Brooke, found her minimalist journey hilarious, but brought up such a great point- “We notice the good in people we love, not the bad”. She never thought twice about what Amy was wearing; she just enjoyed being with her friend.
This quote got me thinking- how lovely is it that we don’t hold onto the bad things about the people we love? But also- how horrible is it that we can become blind to the bad things about the people we love?
Love is blind, whether you take this in a good way or a bad one. I’m sure we can all look back on a relationship, probably one from high school, that we thought, at the time, was perfect in every single way. You and that person were unstoppable; you felt like you both could take on the world. Fast forward a few years to who you are now. How many times have you thought back to that relationship and thought, “oh my god, I was an idiot”.
Love is blind, right?
Think again about people who are in your life right now- the healthy relationships. Your friends, your parents, your significant other. When you think of the reasons you love them, do you think of something positive, or something negative?
Let me show you an example- When I think of my dad, I immediately think of the things I love about him. He makes me laugh, he’s the best listener, he’s always giving me the greatest advice, and his taste in music is horrible, which makes him even funnier.
Have my dad and I had fights and ups-and-downs? Of course! What child can look at their parent and not remember a stupid fight? But he’s my dad. No matter what unkind words we’ve said to one another, we will always love each other.
Love is blind, but it’s not always a bad thing.
Rosenthal, A. K. (2016). Textbook. New York City, NY: Penguin Random House.