I reckon humanity falls into two very distinct camps. There is the glass half full camp and opposing them is the half empty lot. A quick read of the papers and a trawl round the internet and you quickly find it is the half empty glasses getting the column inches. Maybe they're right to be so pessimistic about the world's affairs at the moment but I am not so sure about that. Gloom creates gloom and a happy smile lights up the world for miles around. There is so much gloom and talk of Armageddon it gets me to wondering if it's becoming a self fulfilling prophecy. Like attracts like and maybe it makes a bit of sense to have some sort of optimistic health warning attached to every article that appears in the press, internet and television.
As with the warning on a packet of cigarettes there could be "The writer of this piece scores x or y on the Optimism Meter. Anything under five say and your happy face is under threat over 5 and reading or listening to this will bring a smile to your face
One way to achieve this Optimism Meter would be to look at the aspects to Jupiter in the birth chart of every politician and chattering monkey in the media.
Aspects to the Sun could be counted as a generally happy disposition.
A connection to the Moon could tell us much about the emotional condition of the writer, commentator or politico's inner child.
An aspect to Mercury could be someone who checks his facts with care or if unaspected just prattles on and on following the company or party line with no thought.
Venus could show the leaning towards comfort and ease or general liking for the wearing of a hair shirt and a spot of self flagellation.
Mars on the other hand could tell us how much of an adrenaline junkie we were dealing with.
Which leaves Saturn the great realist, memory man and general all round pessimist. A small dose of Saturn helps keep a sense of reality in all things, too much and we have the Health and Safety Inspectorate running riot and squeezing all the joy and spontaneity out of life.
I am not suggesting a commentator with a low optimism score should be kept in a box, however there are some who think life is about suffering and appear to get off on spreading the misery. Maybe Buddha did indeed say "All life is suffering" but on the other hand it might be attributable to some historical, or should that read hysterical, PR Spin Meister who decided to put his own spin on the actual words Buddha did speak. Anyway I think the type of suffering Buddha was talking about had more to do with spiritual separation rather than the separation of money from wallet.
"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievment. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." ~ Helen Keller
"Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute." ~ Gil Stern
"In the long run the pessimist may be proved right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip." ~ Daniel L. Reardon
"After 5000 years of recorded human history, you wonder, what part of 2,000,000 sunrises doesn't a pessimist understand?" ~Robert Brault
No comments:
Post a Comment