Pretty Bows and Ribbons

My mom claims to be a realist. This is probably true, but as an optimist I’ve always felt that she’s more of a pessimist. She always uses the phrase, “The reality of it is..” followed by a negative opinion. 

Although I claim to hold mostly an optimist perspective, sometimes life sucks. Sometimes there is no silver lining. Sometimes things are not fair. Racism. Sexism. Slavery. The Holocaust. 

In my own past, I’ve had shitty things happen to me, like everyone has. Every one has had some amount of misfortune in your life whether it’s stubbing your toe or having  a close family member pass away. Life is not easy, but life is beautiful. Optimism is how I cope with the negative things that happen. Rather than reflect on the bad things about the world, I accept them and move on.

The other day I walked past a girl with a huge smile on her face and she joyfully greeted me. We’re friends, but we’re not close. I took a minute to think about how happy she always seems to be. Is that even possible? How does she maintain such happiness all the time? I thought for a minute that maybe I am a pessimist because I see people, the world, and life for what they are: flawed. Human error fucks shit up. Even if the world was meant to be a paradise, humans have made it less so. 

Rather than always get down on myself, however, I try to remember that I have been blessed with a good life. I am not in poverty. I am not oppressed, per se. I am not a slave. I have free will. I can make choices about my future. And I’m happy about it. So I smile.