I’m a card-carrying optimist, always have been and I hope I always will be. Not every single thing in my life has been pleasant; I’ve dealt with some mind-numbing tragedies, faced the loss of way too many loved ones and survived more of life’s crazy obstacles than I ever imagined I’d face … but haven’t we all? Survived is the key word; we’ve all lived through things and emerged somewhat scarred, a great deal sadder and hopefully, a whole lot wiser. And, if we’re really lucky, a lot more appreciative of the little things that helped us weather through our personal storms.
A friend of mine is just the opposite; an unpleasant event in her life has become the focus of her entire being over the last year. Her social networking page is filled with constant lamentations of how awful her life is; any attempt by anyone to coax her into seeing something — anything — in a positive light is met with ridicule by her. She says we’re all burying our heads in the sand, pretending to enjoy a life that, by her standards, is less than ideal. At first, I worried that she was dealing badly with depression, but over the course of time, it’s become apparent to us all that she totally enjoys basking in the warm waters of negativity. Personally, I feel like she’s fallen in love with being a pessimist, because according to her, that way, she’ll never be disappointed. Kind of sad, really.
And it makes me wonder … who is really the ostrich here?
