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This weekly column is inspired by students and news trends that remind us to “spill the tea” on what’s good. Shout out to Solutions Journalism, Fix the News, Good News Movement, and My Unsung Hero - check them out.
The goal is to practice seeing and spreading the good - looking for positive stories to balance out all the negative ones or finding a positive kernel in what seems like a bad or negative event. Building a practice of finding positivity is not about being naive or avoiding tough times - it’s about reminding ourselves that life can be hard, uncertain, and even unfair sometimes and resilience is fueled by hope and confidence built through action.
by: Dr. Boehner
date: October 8, 2025
Buckle up MS - this is a longer one.
I was doing a project this week with a colleague and as we started the day she mentioned she’d had a rough morning. She’d accidentally hit a possum on her way to school and got teary eyed recounting how upset she was at the scene. She then apologized to me for being so worked up.
Given that I will cry at commercials, I found this comment really interesting. I also realized I do the same thing and always apologize to people for having big feelings. That’s something to unpack itself.
But it also occurred to me that accidentally hurting something or someone warrants big feelings. This is not the anomaly. Isn’t the anomaly having no reaction? It made me think of Dr. Temple Grandin and her point of view that she is a carnivore but she believes animals do not need to suffer in providing us with nourishment. It made me want to be better when I say grace before a meal to really think about what I’m asking for in the blessing and what I’m honoring.
The possums are speaking to me, clearly. I had an encounter earlier in the fall. I’d let Bella Bear out of the house and she nearly intercepted the path of a possum returning from her night escapades. The possum did as possums do and froze. Bella, with her failing eye site, continued walking.
I nearly gave the game away by shrieking. I’d always been a little creeped out by possums and had no idea what I’d do if Bella got one in her mouth. Crisis averted, Bella went back inside and I made a mental note that we needed to get animal control out to move the possum from wherever her encampment was.
The next morning, my husband also saw the possum but this time she was carrying five little joeys on her back. My desire to move her abated. And since my phone is listening to me, later that day Instagram informed me that possums are not disease carriers and actually eat ticks and snakes. Why, I wondered, did I need Instagram to remind me that the ecosystem of life is profound and my fence line is arbitrary?
The possums are definitely trying to tell me something. These two vignettes reminded me of a third.
Several years ago, I was in a souvenir shop in Devil’s Thumb, Colorado buying a tshirt. The gentlemen behind the counter were locked in a one sided conversation I didn’t want to interrupt.
Clerk 1: “Dude. You won’t believe what happened. Last night I was like sleeping in my tent, right? And I had to go, so I went outside. And it was like really dark.”
Clerk 2: (not listening)
Clerk 1: “Yeah, so… I’m like going right? And I see this possum, man. I just see his little eyes. And he’s like looking right at me and I’m like, ‘Woah Dude…you’re kind of freaking me out…I didn’t see you there…’”
Clerk 2: (still not listening)
At this point, I was feeling sorry for Clerk 1 because his friend was giving him nothing so I chimed in.
Me: “What do you think the possum was thinking when he saw you?”
Clerk 1 and 2 looked at me with wide eyes. Several beats passed in silence.
Clerk 2: “Woah….that’s like, the Possum Perspective man. Oh wow…I never thought about that…”
Eventually, I was able to make my purchase while the clerks continued to wax on about the mind blowing shift considering the inner workings of the possum's mind. If he was freaked out about the possum, surely the possum might have felt the same?
How did I ever forget that? How can I remind myself to always consider the Possum Perspective?
And while I'm at it, who wants to start a band called The Possum Perspective?
Check out past Positivi-Tea articles:
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