I am, in general, a happier and more satisfied person than many people I know because I tend to be an optimist. Yet, days like today I have to acknowledge that much of my cheer is related to my use of my rose-colored glasses.
Yes. I admit it. I am one of them.
I am one of those people who refuse to see the truth, who only pays a great deal of attention to what suits me. (Which happens to be, most of the time, only that which will not cause me stress.)
I am, alas, a person who refuses to live in reality. If I cannot do anything about a problem, I ignore it as much as possible. I am admitting this, because today I have some "issues" that refuse to be ignored at the moment, and I am experiencing a high level of "ack". No more happy Dawn... heh. Yeah, well, maybe that's not true either, since I am not crying, yet. I still have hope.
Hope is a good thing ya know? Taxes are my ailment this fine afternoon. As you know, you can't really ignore taxes. Well, you can ... but the consequences can be heavy handed enough to knock the glasses off your face ... rose-colored or otherwise. I may be oblivious, but I am not stupid. While I ignore what I can while I can... I don't leave things to stew that may ruin my life when I finally choose to beam down to planet Earth for a visit.
It's not usually a bad thing, my proclivity towards ignorant bliss. I am careful to what parts of my life I apply it (as in taxes, for example) and I am easily roused from my complacency. (Do something to one of my kids ... watch how fast I care...) I learned to ignore, forget, and let go, through my own experiences.
As a young person I used to make lotsa mountains out of very few molehills. I had the Scarlet O'Hara Syndrome. ("Oh, poor me") Later, as a young adult, I had the misfortune to be part of some very bad experiences, which eventually I will relate sooner or later one-by-one, as they often are the cobwebs you'll find in my "attic". I discovered that crying, worrying, anxiety, and other reactions I had to focusing on the problems or events in my life (or the lives of others around me) led to very few solutions.
What I learned is that I don't have to be miserable ("Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional" ...don't know who said it ... but boy is it true...) and that looking for the good stuff around me is ultimately the better way to go. ("Enthusiasm is the electricity of life. How do you get it? Act the way you want to feel." .)
So ... all that said... I feel better now. I vented. The Tax-Anxiety-Boogyman has left the building. Whew. So ... gonna close this one today with an appropriate joke... hope you enjoy, and appreciate it. :)
The Optimist and the Pessimist
Some Psychiatrists decided to do a study on optimists and pessimists. They found two children; the first who was always looking on the brought side of things, the second who had a talent for finding the negative side every time.
They took the pessimist to a room full of toys and treats. Every toy you can imagine, and more yummy goodies than any child can possibly consume. They ushered him in the room, then shut the door.
They took the optimist to a room full of horse poopand a signgle chair in the center of the room. (yeah, again I am using the nice words) There they left him and shut the door.
After several hours they went to the room where they had left the pessimistic child. Opening the door, they found him quite sullen and sitting quietly. "Why are you not playing with the toys?" They asked. "They are not my toys," the boy replied, "I would probably just get into trouble. Besides, who wants to play with toys you can't keep?" The doctors shook their heads at such a negative attitude.
They then went to the next room, where the optimistic child had been left. When they open the door, what a surprise! The child had the chair in both hands, upside down, and was using it to sling the dung everywhere!"What are you doing?" The doctors cried out in amazement...
The boy looked up, grinning from ear to ear, "I'm digging! With all this horse poop, there's gotta be a pony in here somewhere!"
The moral of my story folks? In the long run, the pessimist may be right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip! ;)
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