A Windy World
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“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”
William Arthur Ward
Are you an optimist? A pessimist? A realist? Some combination thereof?
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”
William Arthur Ward
Are you an optimist? A pessimist? A realist? Some combination thereof?
A realist with optimistic tendencies. I don’t think I was quite so optimistic before I got married, but now I feel I have to balance my husband, who leans pessimistic, but is much more vocal about his frustrations than I.
What cuties! I love the beach!
Peyton – So interesting that you mention your husband and his effect on your outlook because I think this is a really interesting question, namely how our partners change the way we see the world. Before meeting Husband, I think I was a bit (or far more) cynical. He is very optimistic soul and I think he has rubbed off on me some… What’s also interesting is that I think some of my cynicism has rubbed off on him… Anyway, I think that we often seek balance in our relationships. If one person is unduly stressed, I think the other tends to become mellow, etc… I am curious about this… about how our identities shift in the context of unions… (And, yes, the beach was great!)
Peyton beat me to answering my own question… I think I am mostly a realist. I think I’m pretty good at seeing things as they are without adding too much sunshine or doom and gloom to them… That said, depending on the day, I feel compelling surges of optimism break through. Obviously, I enjoy these moments even if I don’t entirely understand them fully… Of course there are also days where I tend to see things as half-empty; I imagine this is true for us all. What’s interesting (to me) though is that I think I am becoming more and more optimistic the older I get. This surprises me somewhat because adulthood is riddled with complexity and grays… I think it probably has something to do with my children, with their silliness, with the unmarred wonder in their eyes. No matter the source, I’ll take it
Wow… what a great post and thank you for that. The wind in my world is blowing at tornado level. I am having a hard time weathering the storm but after reading the quote I’m realizing that it’s because I’m adjusting my sails, and that’s not going to happen overnight. It’s going to take some time to adjust my sails to change direction. And that’s okay. Complaining about the storm, or just standing by hoping it’s going to blow over on it’s own is not going to work. What’s going to work is the change I put into it.
I feel exactly the same way Mary.. i thought my winds were far too strong, but maybe i’m just fighting the winds instead of adjusting my sails.
Thanks Aidan for a fantastic post
I think I’m pretty much a realist. While I frankly have not had too many disappointments in my lifetime (especially since my last year of college), I have had to be very flexible mostly because of my (and my husband’s) job. Being ultra flexible also means being a realist because you can never really get your heart set on one thing in particular.
Some who know me might say I’m an optimist because I often shoot for somewhat lofty goals…however, most of the times I’ve shot for these lofty goals, I’ve achieved them. This has given me the attitude of, “Why not?!” Having that kind of attitude really means I have to take things in stride and (cliche alert!) cross each bridge as I come to it. In doing so, I really can’t think too far ahead one way or the other.
Great pics
I have always thought of myself as an optimist, however, life has given me some very hard knocks and now from your post, I too realize that I am adjusting my sails… Oh boy this storm is very windy!
I like to think of myself as an optimist, but I think that the world has weathered me into more of a pessimist. After feeling heartbreak and its ensuing bitterness, I can’t help but feel like I am always bracing myself for the worst. I want to prepare myself for when the worst happens. Granted, I still have dreams and I try to envision both the best and worst case scenarios. Still, when you are taking in a lot of bad news, it can be really difficult to keep your head up and see the glass as half full.
Did you cut Big Girl’s hair?