Which are you? I’m an optimist, through and through. This goes against the grain of many folks who, for some odd reason, seem to believe that optimism equals the helpless little lamb in the wilderness and pessimism equals the big, bad wolf on the prowl that will eventually find and eat the little lamb. These folks have read too many scary books! Wikipedia definitions:
Optimist - a tendency to expect the best, or at least, a favorable outcome; the doctrine that this world is the best of all possible worlds; the belief that good will eventually triumph over evil
Pessimist - a general disposition to look on the dark side and to expect the worst in all things
WHAT A CROCK! (but I say that with a positive expression)
Heather’s definition of an optimist – is fully aware of the hardships of life, has experience dealing with bad outcomes and bad people, and realizes from experience that even when the big bad wolf is searing you with his bad breath and obnoxious behavior that you can still survive him; knows that life is short and doesn’t want to waste one moment by sinking into thoughts of the worst; frequently appreciates the decent days, beautiful landscapes, outstanding humanity all around; prepares for bad times by practicing disaster preparedness; attempts to maintain good health by following good eating and exercise habits; reaches out for help and sometimes even hollers ‘SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!’ when life becomes difficult to deal with; tries and stumbles and falls and ends up in the emergency room but gets right back up and tries again; and finally, realizes that the experience we call life is not the end. When souls pass from this difficult and challenging place that we call life, we move on to something more that we have worked very hard to deserve and are looking forward to. An optimist knows about evil; but turns towards good.
Heather’s definition of a pessimist – believes the modern concepts of ‘life should be a barrel of fun!’, ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’, and that if you are not being OK to me, I WILL take you out like a bad Dirty Harry movie. And doing that is OK. Eventually comes to realize that life is quite challenging and UNfun at times. This pisses them off. They then begin practicing constant awareness of the badness in other people and the fact that bad events are liable to happen any moment. Life is sneaky that way. Believes that numerous comets and asteroids are whizzing towards earth in suicidal adventures for all; and recently that the Mayan were NOT primitive people who depended on human sacrifice and reading the entrails of dead chickens to predict the future but WERE misunderstood, supremely intelligent people who, despite their annoying habits, could absolutely read the future – and they predict that the END IS NEAR! Pessimists are in constant internal conflict between their hopeful expectations of an easy life and the realities of life. Every annoying, challenging, or bad thing that happens to them is thought to be aimed directly at them and not due to misunderstandings, the frailties of others, or natural disasters that follow their own drum beat. A pessimist knows about evil; believes that it is unfair; tries to avoid it; and is pissed off that it keeps finding him.
If you are an optimist, groove on, friend! Keep sending out those positive vibes – the world needs them. Especially the pessimists. If you are an optimist, you are probably zen-ning at a local yoga class, growing veggies in your backyard raised bed gardens, ignoring stupid TV commercials and/or finding them hilarious, frequently ‘talking’ with God, volunteering for good causes and to help in natural disasters, alerting neighbors to the release of Level III sex offenders into your area, canning food and preserving fruits for the lean times, budgeting until your family starts to think you are a tightwad, prodding everyone to eat better and exercise more, visiting a psychologist/spiritual leader/shaman to gain insights into yourself and others, and even appreciating the pessimists in your life because they are the yang to your yin.
If you are a pessimist, HEY stop feeling so bad about yourself, buddy! You are needed in this world, too. Optimists frequently need pessimists to remind them to get their heads out of the clouds when the sun is burning them to a crisp. As a pessimist, you are working in the heights of government and corporations and aiming your considerable will power like a heat seeking missile at your opponents. You are directing your disappointment at the realities of life into soulful music, thoughtful books, and sometimes tirades that result in everything from family arguments to world revolutions. Sometimes the world needs a really pissed off revolutionary who just ISN’T GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE! If you are open to this, here is something to consider: the lifespan of a human being is short. You spend 17-25 years in childhood or young adulthood where you are provided for by others – how can that be all bad? You are most likely able to provide for yourself during your mature adulthood of about 30 years. Note: most homeless folks are probably optimists. They actually ASK for donations and help. Pessimists are the ones stealing from others in order to keep themselves in champagne and caviar. So if you are able to provide a decent life for yourself in an honest manner, how can that be bad? You are a winner! The autumn and winter of your life will most likely be spent in comfortable retirement where you can indulge in your hobbies of watching scary or war movies (same thing to my mind), competing online and winning at Death Game or War Expert or whatever those video games are called wherein mass amounts of people are massacred, and waiting anxiously for the Next Predicted Disaster. Hopefully you are married to an optimist who will occasionally throw food your way, drag you out for a walk, secretly turn off power to the house to get you away from those anxiety producing movies and video games sometimes, and remind you – constantly – that yes, Virginia, there is a God.
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