The Optimist
You’ve probably heard it several times? said in many different ways. How life treats you is largely a matter of perspective. It’s not so much “what” you see, but “how” you see it? that can very often mean the difference between fulfillment and disillusionment.
Well, there are many ways you can deal with what life throws at you
You can be indifferent, and adopt a “I couldn’t care less” attitude. But this makes you cold? and over time, you’ll find it more and more difficult to appreciate the love and beauty that life can provide.
Or you can be skeptical about everything? and languish indefinitely in the throes of misery and regret.
Or you can react positively to people and events which initially appear to be the children of misfortune.
A pair of identical twins was born to a young couple. One of them was a hope-filled optimist. “Everything is coming up roses!” he would say.
The other twin however, was a sad and hopeless pessimist. He thought that Murphy, as in Murphy’s Law, was an optimist.
The worried parents, alarmed at this large disparity of mindset and personality, brought them to see the local psychologist.
After examining and talking to the twins, he suggested to the parents a plan to balance the twins’ personalities. “On their next birthday, put them in separate rooms to open their gifts. Give the pessimist the best toys you can afford, and give the optimist a box of manure.”
The parents followed these instructions and carefully observed the results.
When they peeked in on the pessimist, they heard him audibly complaining, “I don’t like the color of this computer . . I’ll bet this calculator will break . . . I don’t like the game . . . I know someone who’s got a bigger toy car than this . . .”
Tiptoeing across the corridor, the parents peeked in and saw their little optimist gleefully throwing the manure up in the air. He was giggling. “You can’t fool me! Where there’s this much manure, there’s gotta be a pony!”
Many tragedies happen only in our minds. We can set the stage for disaster and grief? and very simply, become bitter and unhappy people? or we can let the sun in our heart shine through the storm clouds of this world. If you can do this, you’ll find that very often, one candle can illuminate an entire room of darkness.
