Do you see your life as Half Empty, or Half Full?

[SnoringFrog]

I'm a pessimist most times, but I prefer to stay w/ realism. I look at what will/is/did happen and try to see the logical choice, but I like to see a broad range of outcomes and try to be ready for any of it. So, I'm a realist leaning mainly towards pessimism in most cases. But with some stuff God's put me through recently I've learned that a slight lean towards optimism is sometimes to only way to stay faithful.

The glass is twice the size it needs to be for the given specifications.

Rofl, I love this line.

Absolutely half-full. Something has to be seriously awful before it'll get me too down. XD There are things that will bother me and get on my nerves, and I may rant about them, but I usually get over it within a few hours or less. XD If I lost a $20 bill, I will say that I wouldn't just shrug it off, though. XD I mean. That's like half a tank of gas right there. D8

Half a tank? That must be one small tank...

[Kanerou]

http://www.despair.com/pessimistsmug.html

Seriously, I go back and forth. I'm not surprised when things go wrong, in a sense (I tend to say, "Of course..."), and I can sometimes see what might go wrong. I tend to try and keep people happy, though, which requires some degree of optimism.

[rocklobster]

I try to be an optimist, but I don't always succeed. It's kind of hard to always believe that things are going to get better.

[ich1990]

I have little interest in appealing to all members of anything. I know that not everyone can understand everything I say, but many are capable of understanding some of what I say. To you, language is a medium of communication in which it is wisest and most to communicate to the largest possible audience. To me, however, language is a method of transmitting ideas and values initiated and mediated by the dominant powers and narrative of a group. As such, whoever controls the language controls both the people that speak it and the terms in which the dominant narrative is told. Now, supposing that you, like me, came to believe that the "powers that be" that control the society you live in are injust and oppressive. You would begin to suspect that both the medium of your language and the narrative it is used to tell are like a deck of cards stacked in favor of the oppressor and its agenda. As such, far from being the most empowering option, to appeal to the language and values of the people at large whom are controlled by that very language is to surrender control to the powers that be. Instead, you might consider your task to be the introduction of new words and new ideas outside of the matrix of common speech and ideas to seek out a few kindred spirits and help reshuffle the deck of the world in favor of a more equitable game.

It is my understanding that your, um, excessively obstruse rhetoric has overshot its target demographic. Unless your target demographic is not that which frequents this message board. In that case why post at all? Even Jesus knew that, in order to influence the locals (without using his miraculous power), he needed to speak like the locals.

I understand your point of "trying to break down the barrier of language between those 'educated' and those who are not". However, by using the language of those who are 'educated' you are already identifying yourself as one of "those who I can't understand and therefore can't trust".

In order to truly break down the language barrier between those who run our country and those who live in it, don't you have to belong to both groups? Therefore, while complicated language is not evil, it is different, and people fear what they can not understand.

Unless I have totally read your post wrong, which could very well be the case.

As for me, I am cynical, yet try to not let it effect me. Jesus knew what the world would do to him, yet still held out hope. Expect the worst, yet hope for the best. It is not an easy way to live.

[mitsuki lover]

Well it is a rather large glass.

I am mainly a optimist.Primarily because I believe in the Sovereignty of God and Predestination and so I really don't think the universe is going to fall apart any time soon,even if something bad happens in this life.I mean God is still in charge,and if he knows when a sparrow falls to the ground he certainly must know when we need him.So that is why I am a optimist.

That and the fact that the rather large glass we are talking about is made up of Guiness!:lol::lol:

[LadyRushia]

Ghost, who are you trying to impress? Seriously, you can make intelligent posts, citing your insights from whatever field of study you want, but there is such a thing as overdoing it; and honestly, whether you realize it or not, sometimes you come across as thinking that you're better or smarter than everyone else.

I love language and I love writing. I understand how powerful and effective words can be, but using too many of them can actually kill whatever point you're trying to make, no matter how well researched it is. It's possible to write intelligently and concisely.

Moving on, I'm glad that God has everything in control. If He didn't, I'd probably be a nervous wreck worrying about everything like I used to when I was a kid. That's not to say that I don't have any troubles, but when I do I always remember the phrase "This, too, shall pass."

[termyt]

I see the glass as being twice as big as it needs to be.

I really don't define my life according to some standard that says it is missing something, which being either half full or half empty implies.

My life is what it is and it is my duty to do something positive with it.

[uc pseudonym]

The glass is completely empty. God gave me a mostly full one, but also the commission to give water to the thirsty. That's fine, because I signed up for truth, not free drinks.

[ShiroiHikari]

I think the waiter should refill my glass when I hailed him the first time.

Seriously, where is that guy?

This post is deep and insightful.

[Tsukuyomi]

The glass is ever changing, but that's ok, because that's the life is. It's ever changing ^__^ As much as we want it to stay the same, there's always going to be some changes. That also goes for the "Glass half full/empty" pov ^__^

[Amzi Live]

The glass is completely empty. God gave me a mostly full one, but also the commission to give water to the thirsty. That's fine, because I signed up for truth, not free drinks.

Wow!:thumb:

[minakichan]

I call myself a practical pessimist, but I dream and hope a lot, so I guess I'm in the middle. Recently, my life hasn't had any major problems, so I've been asking myself if I consider myself happy at the moment. Well, considering that I can't really answer that question, I guess that means I'm not unhappy and I'm fairly content. It's actually a good feeling =D

[Fish and Chips]

I have little interest in appealing to all members of anything.

No nation expects one man to appease all people all the time. However, there's something to be said for not annoying all people all the time.

For the sake of the plebian in the street, allow me to retrive some concieved point from this indecypherable mass of insufferably excessive and indulgent language.

I said the idea was stupid. My argument from high starvation death rates, when converted to raw logic, may be stated as follows:

"My views, in as many words as unnecessary:"

1. Conventional optimism predicts that the world as an aggregate system (both nature and society) is optimum for mankind to thrive, prosper, and especially to find happiness.
2. For mankind to thrive, prosper, and find happiness, basic nutrition is a key essential element.
3. However, 30,000 people a day (10,950,000 a year) die from starvation and malnutrition because they were unable to secure basic nutrition, a key element for them to thrive, prosper, and find happiness.
4. Therefore, the world as an aggregate system (both nature and society) is not optimum for mankind to thrive, prosper, and find happiness.
5. Therefore, conventional optimism is philosophically improbable. (It is important to note as an aside that I think the key factors in such high starvation death rates are social rather than natural).

"People can't be happy if they're dead."

To me, conventional optimism is deeply akin to the ungodly superstition of luck and unluck, whereby trust in God's providence is replaced by trust in some vague principle of favor or unfavor within the universe. It is true that with God all things will ultimately work for good to those who love him, and as such any theist must ultimately embrace some form of optimism. My own tragic optimistic perspective is different from conventional optimism and pessimism because it makes a different predictions about the course of human events. It predicts that personal life and human history alike will be marked by great tragedies and evils that will ultimately be redeemed and show God's power. In theological terms, it is important to note that I am actually both a Molinist and a Postmillenialist, two systems that when combined conceive of God achieving the greatest possible good before Christ's second coming. Unlike the conventional optimist, however, I am skeptical that God rates man's greatest contentment and happiness in the world as among the highest good to be achieved, and so I do not believe he has created this world as the best of all possible worlds where this kind of good would occur.

"I read Candide once. Back in High school. Voltaire, you lovable madman."

I know that not everyone can understand everything I say, but many are capable of understanding some of what I say. To you, language is a medium of communication in which it is wisest and most to communicate to the largest possible audience.

"Clear and concise for the unwashed masses?"

To me, however,

"Language is not for communication."

language is a method of transmitting ideas and values initiated and mediated by the dominant powers and narrative of a group. As such, whoever controls the language controls both the people that speak it and the terms in which the dominant narrative is told. Now, supposing that you, like me, came to believe that the "powers that be" that control the society you live in are injust and oppressive. You would begin to suspect that both the medium of your language and the narrative it is used to tell are like a deck of cards stacked in favor of the oppressor and its agenda. As such, far from being the most empowering option, to appeal to the language and values of the people at large whom are controlled by that very language is to surrender control to the powers that be. Instead, you might consider your task to be the introduction of new words and new ideas outside of the matrix of common speech and ideas to seek out a few kindred spirits and help reshuffle the deck of the world in favor of a more equitable game.

"This needless verbose transcript may be our only weapon against the inevitable rise of RoboHitler."

Not a controversial subject? Optimism vs. Pessimism has been hotly debated for millenia. I can see very little difference between saying "I don't like to think about negative things for very long" and 'I'm afraid of thinking about tragic realities, so I shield my mind from them.' But to shield one's mind in this fashion is to prevent oneself from seeing the world that Christ came to save that groans and cries out in need as God sees it, and hence constitutes a form of ungodliness. Indeed, I think it is the way many optimists stick their heads in the sand to shield themselves from inconvienient realities that allows nihilistic despair to market itself as a realistic outlook. Optimism is meaningless if it requires one to use rose colored glasses to look at the world.

"Your world is bad and you should feel bad."

I think this paradox between the duty to rejoice and the duty to mourn is best described in Kierkegaard's Knight of Faith, who serves as an idealized portrait of faith in action. Kierkegaard says of the Knight of Faith that "He drains the deep sadness in life in infinite resignation, he knows the blessedness of infinity, he has felt the pain of renouncing everything, the most precious thing in the world, and yet the finite tastes just as good to him as to one who never knew anything higher." (Soren Kierkegaard, Fear And Trembling III 91) Perhaps the greatest (and only) living example of the Knight of Faith is our Lord Jesus Christ, whom in his embodiment of what it means to be truly human lived a life of the most profound joy the world has ever known as the herald of the good news of God's kingdom breaking in, and yet also lived a life of the most profound sadness the world has ever known as a man of sorrows who bore all of the the grief of a tragic and fallen world. And, as always, it is our duty as Christians to be conformed to the image of Christ to discover within him the image of God that imbues us with our humanity. As such, we should strive in the power of God's Spirit to discover both the joy and sorrow of Christ, and thus to discover the greatest extent of our own humanity.

"Counter-intuitive to my entire arguement, don't worry, be happy."

[LadyRushia]

Fish. You win, XD.

[Debitt]

Fish has won this thread.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I don't drink out of a glass because I'm too poor. D:

[Kung_Fu_Master]

Full Glass but Roy got to it first.

Kay sara sara (SP?)

[Dante]

If I lost a twenty dollar bill, I'd be majorly ticked off... and I would likely punish myself for a failure in watching out for it in some means or another... For me, that about three hours worth of work! I can't afford to throw away $20.00... Worse yet, my parents keep a real close eye on my funding (even though they have no reason to, nor right given my age) and so I'd be doubly in trouble once again and they would force me to waste another hour or two of my life LOOKING for it T_T...

I definitely see my glass as half empty, but by my own decisions. I acquired a vast deal with that other half, and unless I muck it up bad time I intend on gaining at least that much with what remains. Even if there's no water left in the glass... it IS only water. Why not use it to its fullest potential and recycle the glass when everythings said and done.

[Danderson]

Hmmm....tough to say.....I tend to lean towards one or the other inconsistantly with extreme emotion....but lately not so much.....I think when my friends see me they probably see more "glass half full optimism"....but I can just as easily be a pessimist....

[Tsukuyomi]

*Tries to hold back laughter*

I'm sorry, but that made me want to laugh XD

I said I'm sorry D:<

Fish wins the entire internets \o.o/

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I view the glass as half full and half empty. I'm an optimistic realist.

[Bap]

It really depends on the situation for me... xD Sometimes, I look at things half-empty because I think in the end it'll kinda help me. :P Like... whenever I log on to a messenger or something, and there's someone I want to talk to, I make myself think that when I sign on, they won't be on. xD So that if they aren't, it's like, "Oh, CALLED IT. 8D" and when they are on, it'd be a pleasant surprise. :D

...but rly, it's usually just what I'm feeling at the time. ._. I know, not something I should do, but you just can't help it sometimes, you know? ;o; if you're sad, you feel pessimistic. If you're happy, you feel optimistic. ._.;;;

[Tsukuyomi]

[quote="Bap (post: 1210809)"]It really depends on the situation for me... xD Sometimes, I look at things half-empty because I think in the end it'll kinda help me. Like... whenever I log on to a messenger or something, and there's someone I want to talk to, I make myself think that when I sign on, they won't be on. xD So that if they aren't, it's like, "Oh, CALLED IT. 8D" and when they are on, it'd be a pleasant surprise.

...but rly, it's usually just what I'm feeling at the time. ._. I know, not something I should do, but you just can't help it sometimes, you know? ]

This is true ^__^ It all depends on your situation ^_^

Hee hee, I think I did that with IM before,"Oh Hay, You're On " lol

[Smile:)]

I think that saying the glass is half full dosen't change the fact that it's half empty. Saying it's half empty dosen't make it any less full.

Though that realy doesn't matter 'cause "My cup overflows." -psalm 23:5 NIV

[silver_wolf454]

O-o There's a hole in my glass.....it leaks.....

[RidleyofZebes]

My glass is half full, which is fine because I don't think I could drink the rest of it if I got a refill anyway.

I'm content.

Oh, and Fish? You win internets, my friend! XD

[Kaligraphic]

Given (A) : that God's promises of blessing are true, and (B) : that we receive the promises, like salvation, through faith,

It is therefore logical to conclude that the position of an optimist, believing the promise of God's blessing, and of a pessimist, believing the curses of the law, may both be accurate and correct, as the outcome is not only predicted by, but even in a sense predicated on one's outlook.

That said, I'm more than a cup; I'm a hose.

[Slytherine]

I've been a serious pessimist in recent years, but I like thinking more positively now. I'll except whatever God has in store for me, and hope for the best! ^_^

~Slytherine