It’s the human condition. Often, conflicting ideas or facts have to cohabitate: the dark and light, the good and the bad, the mouth-watering and the fattening. Last night’s latest offering in the Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival  was a documentary from Israel called, “The Worst Company in the World.” The dark: a family business that is failing terribly, a financial disaster area. The light: three middle aged men, two of whom are brothers and the third, a life-long friend, who delight in life and laugh their way through the day.

The moderated discussion after the movie bugged me. It felt like people were becoming polarized. Do you focus on the unsuccessful business or the human beings who were obviously a very happy gang? I didn’t want to have to choose, and members of the audience were taking sides. I didn’t feel like it was necessary to belabor the point that the business was a total disaster. My focus was on these three men. I liked them. I liked them a lot. I would have enjoyed sharing a bagel and a cup of coffee with them. They were silly, crazy, disorganized, delightful. If they were in my life, it would be a blessing. As it is, I happen to have a boyfriend with a sense of humor that hasn’t matured much since he was 12, and I like this. They are my kind of people. I can hold that life can be hard and challenging AND that life is fun.For me, what matters, is laughter, stupid belly laughter, the stuff that makes you cry and cross your legs (is that just a female issue?). OK, so sometimes it makes the brain short circuit to try to hold both, but that is a juggle worth doing. Don’t make me choose: I will not condemn their silliness because it has perhaps caused the downfall of their business.

Confucius says: One joy dispels a hundred cares.

Also from the Chinese, a proverb: You can not prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests  in your hair.

I agree that the family business was the “worst in the world,” but the company they kept: this was the best.