optimism vs pessimism

this past thursday night i saw the tail end of michael j fox's special on optimism. he did this special to kick off his new book always looking up: adventures of an incurable optimist . i wish i had seen more than the last 15 minutes. for an actor in the rocket of his career to be stricken with parkinsons and still be optimistic is astounding. not only is he spouting dogma he has internalized it. when i hear people singing mitzvah gedolah lihiyot b'simcha it seems its their favorite song and not an adage they uphold. michael j. fox is living it.

when i first sat down to watch the special i was struck by the sadness of it all. the michael j. fox of family ties, back to the future and spin city is a parkinsons patient. what also struck me is how great an actor he really is. he is beloved for such roles, but they werent really who he is . he certainly is not the conservative republican alex p. keaton or marty mcfly of back to the future. he's someone much finer. though he can no longer walk a straight line or sit still, he is a positive shining light in the face of adversity. he is hopeful for a cure for parkinsons and he is grateful for what he does have in life.

forget life changing diseases for a moment. some people are terminal optimists, others eternal pessimists. everything and nothing can be occurring and this is who they will be. an optimist can live in a tiny roach motel apartment and be so happy to be living the dream of making it in the big city while another could have a penthouse on park avenue but not be able to enjoy it because they have freckles. so many people are too busy chasing rainbows to appreciate what they have.

tracey pollan, michael j. fox's wife, is a pessimist. according to the psychologist on the special, pessimism isnt necessarily a bad thing. a pessimist needs to assess the worst case scenario so they can move on. it makes them feel better. being more pessimist that optimist myself i can attest to this truth. its nice to know that a little realism can be positive. it seems too naive to be completely pollyanna.

when i meet a guy i always see his faults blaring in my face. but to me this isnt necessarily a bad thing. i get the bad part out of the way first. worst case scenario. then i see if i can also find the good . does the good outshine the bad? i dont purposely do this. its just how im wired. others only see good. then the s@$##t hits the fan and they see all of the negative. i do it the other way.

the lesson to be learned from the show was whether optimistic or pessimistic by nature one can still be sameach b'chelko its just that there are different methods of reaching that endpoint.