Quandary
I'm an eternal optimist. I always have been. I can find the positive in any situation and will forever think that the best is yet to come.
Most of the time, this serves me well. I'm the girl who can smile her way through any heartache, life disaster, gloomy day, you name it. I tend to view hardships simply as life lessons meant to bring us closer to complete self knowledge and unconditional self love.
Likewise, I try to see the best in people. While it can admittedly be hard to do, I believe we're the most beautiful when we're finding beauty in others. Call it naivete or gullibility if you must, but I automatically assume that a homeless man just wants some spare change. That the man collecting money for charity will really use it for such.
This goes twofold for those who are close to me. I expect a lot from the people I love. It's not harsh, I simply want them to live up to the good I see in them. I expect others to treat me as I treat them. It's not a conditional thing, merely a symbiotic relationship involving both affection and respect.
Unfortunately, this quality doesn't always serve me well. We're all human and therefore likely to both hurt and disappoint. The fact that I expect so much means my personal disappointment is oftentimes greater than it realistically should be.
But I'm stuck. Would it be better to expect a lot from people and occasionally be disappointed? Or to not expect much and occasionally be pleasantly surprised?
The latter seems so cynical. But the other invests you in something completely out of your control. Simply because I tend to hold myself to a high standard, is it fair to expect the same from others?
I have no clear cut answers. Hence the "quandary".
Most of the time, this serves me well. I'm the girl who can smile her way through any heartache, life disaster, gloomy day, you name it. I tend to view hardships simply as life lessons meant to bring us closer to complete self knowledge and unconditional self love.
Likewise, I try to see the best in people. While it can admittedly be hard to do, I believe we're the most beautiful when we're finding beauty in others. Call it naivete or gullibility if you must, but I automatically assume that a homeless man just wants some spare change. That the man collecting money for charity will really use it for such.
This goes twofold for those who are close to me. I expect a lot from the people I love. It's not harsh, I simply want them to live up to the good I see in them. I expect others to treat me as I treat them. It's not a conditional thing, merely a symbiotic relationship involving both affection and respect.
Unfortunately, this quality doesn't always serve me well. We're all human and therefore likely to both hurt and disappoint. The fact that I expect so much means my personal disappointment is oftentimes greater than it realistically should be.
But I'm stuck. Would it be better to expect a lot from people and occasionally be disappointed? Or to not expect much and occasionally be pleasantly surprised?
The latter seems so cynical. But the other invests you in something completely out of your control. Simply because I tend to hold myself to a high standard, is it fair to expect the same from others?
I have no clear cut answers. Hence the "quandary".
posted by Rachel at 2:56 PM
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