You may find this hard to believe when you find yourself reading one of my musings, but I am an optimist. I am so deliciously optimistic, because I think I know everything. In the grand scheme of things I know nothing, as almost everyday I find myself in a debate or discussion with somebody about something I think I know well. They are equally optimistic that their felt view is the right one, as far as they can justify it with whatever knowledge they have gleaned on whatever the subject matter it is that we happen to be talking about at the time. And that's fine. It's good to know that my optimism is up against a worthy opponent... another's unshakable optimism.
Now it might be fair to say that some of my debaters are pessimists. It would be ultra-fair to say it in fact, seeing as some of them are self-confessed pessimists. All would likely be classed as cynics in some way too. I am doing them a justice I feel by acknowledging their pessimism and cynicism right here. See, that's my optimism at work again, thinking they will credit me with paying them small homage here. Wonderful.
So it may also come to pass that you will not appreciate someone standing before you with cynical scribblings and critique who claims to be an optimist but has so much to give out about or criticise. You may say I have double standards, I am a liar or that I draw conclusions (I hate that word) based on shaky foundations and pure conjecture that I alone have reached, rather than from a reliable knowledge base (ie; I could be talking about men and women as separate beings rather than just as humans. I can't help but think "you have a vagina and a biological clock, I want to have sex anything with a pulse and run away" as a point of difference). Now I realise that the last sentence(not the one in parenthesis) probably didn't make much sense or read easily, so I will clarify it thus: I basically only write about life as I see it personally, not from a collective stand-point. But that is the enjoyable thing about writing non-blue collar articles. People read it because they are interested in your view in your own words and completely unedited. Blogs and such are unique views into your personality, a unique view into your world. You provide the first person view for someone seeing you in the third person. I like that. It's a nice idea.
But I am unshakably optimistic as I have said before. I believe that every bad situation paves the way for something good. At the very least you learn a lesson or your skin becomes thicker. You may hurt but it'll make you a better person etc etc. (I share the love of the word "Etc" with a writer called Kurt Vonnegut. This man, I believe, was a pessimist. A realistic pessimist and a beautiful writer. I recommend him to you as a good friend of mine recommended him to me. Doooooo eeeeeetttt!) I do however, rely on other's opinions and views to give me a little boost in the right direction. I find that I don't just want to give my view on things, but provide details details details. I accidentally came up with a little catchphrase the other day while talking to a friend from abroad. It goes like this: Details Detail Details. I like it because it's useful and true. It's mine now, so go and find your own clever little repetition of one word three times.
I like to provide details on how I reach a climax of thought. I was never the argumentative or debating type. Live action debates and arguments are not my forte at all. Some people just like to argue a lot on the spot and be right all the time. They are pseudo-intellectuals who annoy everyone because they want to be right. Someone should tell them that belittling people is not right and the feeling you get on belittling someone is only a fleeting good feeling until you feel inadequate enough to do it again. Surely feeling inadequate is not right, right? But anyway, I like to think about things and write about them later. Instead of hot air being lost in the atmosphere it becomes a point of reference for the future (also another word I dislike) so I can look back (something else I don't like doing) and say "wasn't I stupid then?" Here's the thing: People like to look back on the past and say they are stupid or you were stupid. We are all stupid when we have to look to a point in the past in order to find something wrong with us now.
That to me is an optimistic outlook. I'm just saying that's all.
EDIT: I want to pay an acknowledgement to two good friends of mine for the inspiration to write this muddle of words. You know who you are ;-)
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