The universe is a friendly place

A stranger held a lift for you this month. Someone let a car in. Somebody picked up a dropped glove and jogged half a block to hand it back, then waved off the thanks and carried on.

None of that proves anything cosmic. But it's evidence about the ordinary case, and the ordinary case is where a life gets spent. Most people, most days, would rather help than not.

Deciding the place is friendly isn't naivety about the rest of it. It's a stance that changes what you do: whether you ask for directions, whether you apply, whether you say the thing out loud. Friendliness is unusually good at being met halfway.