Pessimist and Optimist
Fuente: https://www.magnoliabox.com/
It needs to be watered without being a plant.
Fed without being a pet.
Sometimes I lose it, but it eventually returns.
It needs to be protected because, although strong, it sometimes weakens.
I’m referring to optimism.
That human condition sometimes so battered by the reality of the world we live in.
My brother uses a novel concept that I think fits well with his profession as a doctor; he considers himself an experienced optimist, or as Mario Benedetti defined it, a well-informed optimist.
I think I fall into the category of moderate pessimist. That’s why I’m working on the premise that it’s better to be optimistic and make mistakes than to go through life bitter.
However, I should clarify that, in some situations and from my own experience, an excess of positivity can be counterproductive and exhausts our energy, especially during grieving processes.
In short, it’s a delicate balance.
I’m going to make a point of seeing the good and starting with simple things, like, for example:
- If I get stuck in traffic, I’ll think that I have more time to enjoy the scenery.
- If I eat more than three chocolates, I’ll tell myself, without blaming myself, “Don’t put off until tomorrow the chocolate you can eat today.”
- If something worries me, whether personal, family, or geopolitical, I’ll trust that everything will be alright.
- If I see the glass half empty, as a pessimist typically does, I’ll fill it to the brim, sip it slowly, and then refill it.
I conclude that whether we are experienced or well-informed optimists, it’s better than being a grumpy pessimist.
So I end these lines with a quote I caught on the wind, as I prepare to drink from that other elixir, the life one, that must be enjoyed sip by sip, second by second, optimistically.
“The pessimist complains about the wind;
the optimist hopes it will change;
the realist adjusts the sails”
William George Ward
