Tale of the Twin Brothers”
A family had twin boys, but the only resemblance they shared was their looks. If one felt it was too hot, the other insisted it was too cold. If one said the TV was too loud, the other argued that the volume needed to be turned up. They were opposite in every way, one the eternal optimist, the other a doom and gloom pessimist.
Curious to see what would happen, on their birthday their father loaded the pessimist’s room with every game and toy imaginable. The optimist’s room he loaded with horse manure.
That evening the father passed by his pessimist son’s room and found him surrounded by his new gifts, crying bitterly.
“Why are you crying?” asked the father.
“Because my friends are going to be jealous, I’m going to have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with all this stuff, I’m going to constantly need batteries and eventually, all my toys will get broken,” moaned the pessimist twin.
As the father passed his optimist son’s room, he found him dancing for joy in the manure pile.
“What are you so happy about?” asked the father.
“I just know there has to be a pony in here somewhere!” answered the optimist twin.
Curious to see what would happen, on their birthday their father loaded the pessimist’s room with every game and toy imaginable. The optimist’s room he loaded with horse manure.
That evening the father passed by his pessimist son’s room and found him surrounded by his new gifts, crying bitterly.
“Why are you crying?” asked the father.
“Because my friends are going to be jealous, I’m going to have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with all this stuff, I’m going to constantly need batteries and eventually, all my toys will get broken,” moaned the pessimist twin.
As the father passed his optimist son’s room, he found him dancing for joy in the manure pile.
“What are you so happy about?” asked the father.
“I just know there has to be a pony in here somewhere!” answered the optimist twin.
I always loved the tale of the two brothers, and I always considered myself “The Optimist”.
However, something happened to me, on the corners of Confidence Rd. and Hopeful Avenue!
I became a PESSIMIST….eew!
Well, I think I’m a pessimist; I know I am not an optimist, anymore.
I think I’m like the brother with the toys, rather than the brother looking for a pony.
Nevertheless, for argument sake, can we say that the brother with the toys is a realist? What he told his father; is any of it untrue? Hmm!
Why am I bringing this up now? Well, it has been a long time since I have looked for a silver- lining in things. I see people around me all day long that exude optimism and I wonder where does it come from and how can I have some of that, or where does it come from, or where do I get it.
Look I know I’m okay I have a home, two great kids, a husband who is my friend, my hero, and my compass….he is my north!
However, there are days…yes, those days, the ones that load a punch, and are filled with crap everywhere … Those are the days I need to find my pony!
It’s there I know it. It is driving into my driveway and I am able to sigh … “home sweet home”, it’s the laughter at the dinner table, its hugs and the hellos from my family, it’s forgetting the toys and remembering to look for the joy, because it will be there. It is always there.
SquaareKat
2 Comments
Poppy
Hi Marisa,
Thought I'd visit THIS blog today! You express all the things that everyone thinks about, some, more of the time, some, less of the time. Maybe that's the true difference between a pessimist and an optimist, it's a fine line, really, isn't it?
Poppy
Marisa B
It is a fine line; but the pessimists gets a bad rap…and sometimes although the optimist can be charming at times it also has an exaggerated approach ….so is it safe to say the being in the middle a sure safe bet?