Response to Futurist T's blog
A friend (we'll call her Futurist T) recently wrote a blog entry about wishing that she could return to the innocent optimism and freedom of spirit that she had when she was a child. I attempted to post a reply to this journal entry (because I am unemployed and such things distract me from accomplishing that necessary evil of securing employment) but the website said that the content had to be approved first. Just in case the reply was not approved (or lost through some esoteric internet mishap), I have decided to post my reply on my blog sans original message.
BEGIN!
Ignorance is bliss, but knowledge is power. Power is not bliss but powerlessness is no rainbow sherbert either. And, indeed, as an adult a Rainbow Brite [MENTIONED IN THE BLOG ENTRY] may not be as special (understanding that you can e-bay up youself another if your rabbits maul the old one), but you also have the knowledge that a buried Rainbow Brite can be unearthed and ressurected through a little tumble in the washer.
My devil's advocacy for the day is that children are more optimistic because they've yet to be scraped by the claws of human nature. An adult recognizes potential dangers and navigates through or around them - thus protecting that adult's children until they are ready to learn the ropes.
Optimism in adults is sweet and seemingly enviable, but I suspect that it is achieved through large doses of denial - not being in the moment. I feel that Optimism is not to be trusted in an adult. Hope, however, is legitimate. Hope implies that a chance exists that the future will turn out better than expected. Hope offers no guarantees (nor can anything in the universe), but it gives us the strength to pursue our goals.
END!
I hope to have an awesome job in the near future being funny for a living.
M
posted by markre | 1:30 PM
1 Comments:
Wow. I've been mentioned in your blog. I feel like a celebrity.
My response to your response: this is why I have friends such as you - it balances me out.
I think I write blogs about Rainbow Brite and plays where I dress up like Gorillas (in which the content is about returning to a state of simplicity and innocence) when my hopemeter is on "E" and reads "Little to None." I go to the other extreme in order to swing the quivery needle back to the middle. What's the saying? Clowns are actually really sad people. We hide our runny noses under pieces of red foam.
But just like optimism cannot be trusted in adults, neither can pessimism. It's like you have been taught how to handle the ropes, but you've never been given a good set of them, so you don't know or believe that good ropes exist. And I think that's dangerous, especially to the people who are swinging with you.
Moral of the story: red foam is absorbent, and swinging, while courageous, will always end in an STD.
Futurist T.
Post a Comment
<< Home