About realism…If my mind can conceive it, my heart can believe it; only then can I say that I can achieve it.
My consideration in this article revolves around the undue attention that people having these two attitudes get…or rather the undue attention that these two notions get. In addition to it, my effort is also to put forth my point of view…which I choose to categorize neither as optimistic nor pessimistic but as 'realistic'.
I have come across people who readily tell you what type of thinking you have just by the way you perceive the level of water in a glass. It is a very popular way...Isn't it? If one sees it as half full, he/she is heralded as an optimist and if he/she takes the contrary view he/she is condemned as a pessimist. I, being a realist find this exercise quite amusing. I will tell you why.
How does it matter whether the glass is half-full or empty? If the water is inadequate to quench your thirst, you are very likely to pour some more and drink it. If it is ample, you won't go into a silly question as that. And if you are not thirsty at all, the question becomes sillier. My mom might opt do something very different...like ask me to put the glass in the wash basin so that she can clean the dinner table ! Practical no? Oh yes, it is.
Some years ago my oldest friend, upon realizing that we have the same/common contact and that too in USA remarked that the world is too small. I could not help disagreeing. No, I did not say that it is big….for I have not seen it all. (People do say, "It is a big bad world", or that "the world is too big, I may take shelter anywhere") I said "the world is round; people are bound to meet if they are destined to". Notice the realism before laughing at it. (In case you are) That the planet is round is a 'universal truth'. The 'destiny' part is of course for the believers.
Coming to a bit of Philosophy, people also say that life is short, that thus it should not be whiled away but spent in worthwhile causes...material or spiritual. Recently my brother said the very thing. Somehow it did not feel good. Besides having a sad tinge about it, it is not the right perspective in my opinion. I will give you reasoning before you jump to say that everyone has a right to hold an opinion.
How can you say that life is short, or long for that matter? With whom do you compare human life? A tortoise has an average lifespan of 500 years. In comparison to this animal, well yes, I can say that my life is short. (And that too relying on the scientific concept of 'average life expectancy') But it sounds silly, doesn't it? To me it does.
What then is the right perspective? In my opinion life is neither short nor long; it is uncertain, thus precious. No one knows till how long he/she is going to live, so none can claim having a long or a short span of life…till death makes everything certain. Again pragmatic.
Pessimism...yes it should be kept at bay. So I shall not talk about it any further and concentrate only on optimism and realism. An optimist tends to take a very cheerful view of matters. He/ she expects the best outcome. 'He dares to dream', it is said. Very good. One should dream. Even a realist dreams, but at the same time he/she knows the essential difference between a dream and a 'pipe dream'. While the former is a vision of a conscious mind, the latter is just a fond hope…an illusion that is elusory. A realist expects the best outcome only when he/she has tried for it and deserves it. He/she not only dares to dream, but has the necessary will and capacity to make it happen. In short, a realist does not fantasize. A realist does believe in miracles, for they do happen; but at the same time he/she has the prudent wisdom to treat them as rare exceptions. He/she does not 'expect' misfortune, as a typical pessimist would do, but does not eliminate the possibility of it either. The line of difference between a realist and an optimist is too thin but there exists one, and this 'one' may make a world of a difference.
No comments:
Post a Comment