CJ: Well, parents are like that. Sometimes we don’t understand what they mean until later, but for the most part they have our best interests at heart. Thanks for the comment.

My husband usually says “The glass is just twice as big as it needs to be.”

CJ: It’s so annoying when people just won’t listen to your answer, isn’t it? It’s like they think you’re purposefully being difficult, but what they’re really saying is, “you’re not answering the way I want you to, so therefore you must be this”. I suppose by that logic if I see a line of people jumping off a bridge, I’m going to go right over and jump too!

And that’s exactly why I hate people being classified as one thing or another; we’re never that. Our thoughts and emotions change with the ebb and flow of life; to deny that part of us to me seems unhealthy, and I think finding something to smile and laugh about is a very healthy attitude. If people can’t accept that, well, that’s their problem.
That’s another great comeback; I’ll have to try it! Thanks for stopping by, kristarella. It’s always great to hear from another Aussie blogger.

I hope ur are right on that one.. Even if you are right when you are in despair it is hard to see beauty…

”Look at Vincent van Gogh, a troubled man who created some of the most incredible art we’ve seen; if he wasn’t troubled, I doubt he would have been half the artist he was.”

I don’t think Van Gogh was one of the greatest because he was troubled…He was just a very talented artist who wasn’t well understood…He surely suffered from a mental illness which had negative impact on his life but in spite of this he was just passionate about painting….

In regards to the half empty-full glass…The problem with me is I always want to see a full glass..There is no half, it is full or empty…I am an extremist, there is no in between…

CJ: Hey CV, that’s an interesting point you bring up. When someone is in the depths of despair, or even just sees life in an endlessly negative way, it’s very hard to see beauty in anything. What we have loses value… but that doesn’t mean that what we can create in that despair isn’t beautiful either. We just can’t see it ourselves.

Perhaps beauty and despair are really two sides of the same coin? Perhaps only by looking at the world in a different way, are we able to create something truly unique… hm, not sure how I’d feel if that were true… I’ll need to give it some thought.
And actually, I think full or empty is a very good way to look at it. You’re committing to one thing, not looking for hidden meanings… IMO, that’s a very good attitude to have.

Presumption #1 is that “full” is “good” and “empty” is “bad”. You address this. And I agree the premise is unfounded and illogical. Many practising meditators work for years to create a state of mental emptiness, so empty is good, right? A glass half empty would be looked on as well on the way to a worthy goal.

A person waiting for an overbooked flight told it’s “full” would not see that as a positive attribute. (Although “half full” in this case would be fine–analogy is a tough business).

No black, no white, no good, no bad…this has been coming up in my thoughts a lot, too.

Presumption #2 is that “optimism” is “good”, and “pessimism” is “bad”. You must have seen studies that claim “optimists live longer” (is that good)? or “pessimists have more ill health!”.

Just this evening I was watching a TV special about Sting and his creation of the album Songs from the Labyrinth. It features Sting playing the Lute, and singing the works of Elizabethan-era composer John Dowland. Having sung that composer myself, and having always liked Sting, I was fascinated by these two elements coming together. I bring it up here because I’ve thought Dowland’s music was transcendent and uplifting, whilst some others find it depressing. Sting himself, and the musicologists he had on the program with him, finds it melancholy. But he explains melancholy is not depressed! Nor is it pessimistic! It’s just exploring the range of emotions we all have. It looks at life as a bit dim, but there is always light, somewhere, as well. Melancholy is an emotional undulation, perhaps.

So, cj, I applaud your stance as a realist. It suits you. It’s not a word I’d ever use to describe myself–my head is firmly planted in the clouds.

Here’s another saying: “An optimist sees this as the best of all possible worlds. A pessimist is afraid that’s true.”

CJ: Oh I’m a trouble maker of the worst order, Muse! Wherever I can stir up anarchy, I’m happy. What I found interesting about your comment (and all your comments, actually) is that you took the presumptions and turned them on their head. I’d never have thought of a full aeroplane as an example of our presumptions, but you’re so right. From my point of view, if I’m trying to book a flight, it’s being full is not a positive thing (although maybe it is for the shareholders). And yet the premise of this question would have me believe that “fullness” is a good thing, when once again it’s something that depends on the situation.

That’s what you’re saying about Sting and John Dowland, and I think in the end - to use another expression -, beauty is in the eye of the beholder; what’s to say that what one person finds melancholy another won’t find beautiful? Our ideas and tastes are very different, and that’s why the “glass is half full/empty” comparison just doesn’t hold up. I agree, btw. I find Dowland’s music very evocative.
Thanks for your comment, Muse; you’ve made me think about things again, as always! I may be a realist, but I’m a hopeful one; I might not have my head in the clouds, but I love to stare at them and dream just the same…

CJ: It’s something we don’t think about much, isn’t it? We just assume that an expression ends with the words, but some of them go much farther than that. Here, just one response is enough for someone to brand you as one thing or the other, as something you might not be. That just annoys the heck out of me.
Glad you liked “there’s no glass”; it’s great because they can’t really disagree! Let me know how people react if you use it; it’s so funny sometimes. So what’s that make you, an opti-pessimist? Cool.

CJ: Glad I’m not the only one who thinks so! Yes, “it’s both” is a good answer, although people usually just roll their eyes when I say it. But you can’t do much for how people react.

Thanks for the compliment as well; the blog’s still a work in progress, but I like it.