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Monday, April 18, 2011

O is for...

...Optimism

My default state (yes, I know that's a geeky way of phrasing it, but I'm a geek so...)

I tend to have a, quite unreasoned and unreasoning, view that "everything will turn out OK". It's not, quite, pollyanna - though my father might have thought otherwise.

He once opined that I was "...indeed fortunate." He then continued, "you have to be." I suspect that was more a comment on how I tended to proceed through my life rather than anything to do with Lady Luck.

We were very alike, he and I, and in that one aspect could not have been more different. I had something of a habit of (metaphorically) walking off cliffs in the sure and certain knowledge that, cartoon like, if I simply kept walking I would reach the other side.

Or, if not and I did fall, there would be a net. Or I would learn to fly before impact.

Or something would work out. As it often did - often despite my best efforts.

Which is why I treasure "The Optimist". And really dislike when he takes his leave. For the world is a dark and difficult place without his perspective.

But, he is seldom gone, and seldom for long.

Yes, I know. I'm talking about myself in multiples and in the third person. But...it's my blog.

7 comments:

  1. Love this, Kevin!
    I'm very much the same, keeping hopeful and optimistic at all times possible; many times when I don't even have reason to.
    Like you said, I believe the net will appear, or at least I'll learn to fly before impact. Hard times, cause they can't be avoided, are much easier to bear this way.

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  2. I was going to say we must be twins, but with Estrella, we are triplets! Isn't there always a trampoline at the bottom of the cliff to bounce us back up...or Pegasus swoops by and we land on his back for an exhilarating flight? :D

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  3. To the two other members of this triple- glad to know there are others around. Of course, there have been times when I didn't grow wings, there wasn't a handy net and no Pegasus and so, like Icarus (to continue the mythological excursion) I burned and crashed.

    Painful that. But seemingly not enough to teach me the lesson that one shouldn't try. I don't ever intend to learn that lesson.

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  4. Nice to find my missing members of the triple (Funny how we're scattered all over the world, isn't it?) :)

    Haven't thought of a trampoline before, Laura, but good point!

    I've learned a lot of lessons, and am sure will learn so many more in time, but as you said, Kevin, I don't intend on learning that particular lesson either!

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  5. Learning that lesson would take the fun out of life...or perhaps I'm crazy. *adjusts her wax wings for yet another takeoff*

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  6. :)

    I like the trampoline idea also. And no, some lessons are too expensive to learn.

    Thanks for the comments, folks.

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  7. I am a ridiculous optimist... there is always a bright side to everything. It drives my family crazy. The haters.
    ~2

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