Pessimism as a Way of Life

The theme of this month is hobbies and interests. Just a few hours until the deadline and all I can think of is the fact that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. I was supposed to be on holiday and here I am, trying to figure out something to write about at midnight. The fact is, I barely have any hobbies and I certainly won't be writing an essay about doing bicep curls in the gym. Even though that would obviously be as awesome as a wet sock filled with porridge, it would hardly stretch any further than two sentences. However, one could argue that my cheerful, joyful, positive attitude in life is in a way a hobby, or at least an interest. Everybody is probably familiar with the old optimistic saying about every cloud having a silver lining and so on, but I'm a proud member of the opposite school of thought. The way I see it, every cloud, silverlining or not, is prohibiting me from getting a tan and may even bring rain, thunder and misery in general. With every step I take there's a possibility that I get hit by a car or walk on a pile of crap.

Pessimism is an interesting way of life, often sadly misunderstood and thus mistakenly treated like a tumor that needs to be removed as fast as possible. The thing is, if you always anticipate everything going down the drain, when bad things finally do happen you are prepared and won't be as disappointed as the average, optimistic Joe living in his bubblegum castle. The other side of the coin is that when life actually goes as planned and everything seems to work out, the surprise will be even sweeter because you never thought such marvellous a thing could happen to you.

Pessimism is something I would definitely call bi-winning.

All the Pretty Horses

2011: The Turku Odyssey