Ann Patchett

I see the world through my eyes and I see people as kind.

And

I want to say it's the difference between a primary source and a secondary source.

I am talking about the people that I know and the people that I interact with, the people that I see in the grocery store, in the bookstore that I own.

I'm not talking about world leaders, political figures, war.

I am well aware that there is horror in the world.

But if you are someone who inherently sees the good in people and shines that out, it comes back to you.

People want to be seen as good.

And if that is your predilection and that's how you see them, they become good.

I mean, does that make sense?

It is.

It really is, especially in literary fiction.

Because people will say to me, oh, you're a Pollyanna.

This is so unrealistic.

And I think if I was writing about horrible people, you would say that is realistic.

Someone said to me recently, rage is a low-hanging fruit.

So if you immediately default to anger...

especially as a way of making yourself look cool, that's very easy to access.

But if you decide to see the good in other people or turn the situation around and find the good in it, it actually takes some muscle.

And a couple of years ago, several years ago now, I decided to stop swearing.