Optimistic. Pessimistic. Realistic.
It is incredibly easy to box people and thoughts into these categories. But in reality, isn't it hard to decipher what you are? Aren't we all a mix of all these words, depending on the situation?
I would love to think that I'm an optimist, although I will freely admit that I'm probably more of a realist.
But here's the thing.
My friend Kathryn would argue that I am a pessimist. (But she's my good friend anyway.) Well, nobody wants to admit that they are a pessimist. It's negative.
And I would argue that I am more of a realist than anything else because I do try to be positive, but situations in life constantly let me down. Negative situations. And they keep me from seeing everything in the best light all the time. But I want to see things in the best light. I really do. And it's difficult. Perhaps I just give in to negativity too easily?
In my view, there are plenty of heartbreaks to be had in this life even when people treat each other well. Accidents, death, loss of health/ jobs/ homes. All these things are incredibly disappointing and heartbreaking. And more often than not, nobody causes them. It is truly nobody's fault. Given that, why do some people have to treat others with disrespect? As if life wasn't already hard enough...
It's all so confusing sometimes. In a world where a new political sex scandal surfaces every other week and it seems like people are constantly letting you down, how do you deal? Should you just learn to manage your expectations better? Maybe if you stop expecting so much from people they won't let you down as often. Maybe not.
In this day and age, is it really too much to expect people to be honest? To have integrity? To be who they say they are? To do the right damn thing? It just doesn't seem that hard to me. But then again, maybe I expect too much.
[What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments if you'd like to.]
Ugh...I could talk about this subject for HOURS!! I don't think it's too much to ask for decency. Why shouldn't you expect to be treated with kindness and respect? Even if it's from a total stranger. Especially when you do the same no matter what. I was raised to treat people the way I would want to be treated. Of course I'm not perfect but I try really hard to do the right thing. Lack of integrity is one of my biggest pet peeves. It's hard to have faith in people when you see some of the things going on around the world but there is a lot of good out there. But I also completely understand how you feel. I have been told that I shouldn't expect too much from people and I say bull! Because like you said, doing those things isn't that hard and besides it feels good!
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