Silver Linings and Slivers

My friend Jill and I were having a conversation, via text, the other day. I said “We take what we can get under current circumstances.” She replied “Silver linings are sometimes slivers.” They sure are. A sliver of light. A sliver of a shift in perspective. Just enough to light the way. Just enough to motivate us to keep moving forward.

Sometimes silver linings are obvious. At other times, layers have to be peeled away. Time to heal and forgive is often needed. The support of others is vital. A kind word. A listening ear. A hug or a smile. Slivers of compassion wedge into the harsh and the hurt and soften them.

As someone who touts the benefits of living gratefully, this idea of silver linings can still make me bristle at times. On a given day in a given set of circumstances, I may be hard-pressed to find blessings. With presence and patience, they emerge. And with them, the meaningful lessons of the challenging time also show themselves. More will be revealed, as long as I don’t keep putting up roadblocks.

I was curious about the origin of the phrase “silver linings.” A little research yielded this:

From Dictionary.com:

-a sign of hope in an unfortunate or gloomy situation; a bright prospect:

-Every cloud has a silver lining.

-A silver lining is a sign of hope or a positive aspect in an otherwise negative situation.

The phrase is often seen as part of the proverb “Every cloud has a silver lining”, meaning that there’s hope or something good to be found in every bad situation. In real life, when a cloud looks like its edges are shining and silvery, it’s because the sun is behind it. That’s the metaphor: things are cloudy (bad), but they will get sunny (positive) again—or you can least enjoy the one shiny (positive) part in all the gloominess.

Example: Getting your tonsils out is a bummer, but there’s a silver lining—you get to eat a lot of ice cream afterward.

And from vocabulary.com:

The origin of the phrase seems to be John Milton's 1634 poem "Comus," which includes the line, "Was I deceived? or did a sable cloud/Turn forth her silver lining on the night?"

Consider the silver lining of clouds. I only see the clouds, and the sun behind them, if I look up, if I get out of my own head. There it is. The sliver I need.