Cynicism

I have been told that my posts have been too pessimistic and cynical. I think it's because I write only when I feel very strongly about the subject. It's quite easy to be critical about something. It's harder to see the positive sides of things. However, sometimes cynicism also helps to not believe in things blindly. So, measured cynicism should be okay? It is bad only if cynicism turns into strong pessimism. I doubt that I am a pessismist. I do try to see the brighter side of most things.

I was watching Oprah the other day --- OK OK, I confess that I watch "Oprah" whenever I can. I admire her for her philanthropy and a kind heart. She is a powerful woman, (She is one good example of making good use of the media) , and I think it's great that she takes an initiative to help other people. She indeed "becomes" the change she wants to see in the world. Some people only talk about changes they want to see, but she on the other hand really acts on it.

Anyway, so there was a show about "Secret of happiness" and they talked about how you can really perceive to be happy in the dire of circumstances. The secret to happiness lies in your perception. It's how you perceive happiness - keyword being perceive. You constantly perceive things and it's your perception that gathers the evidence to make your beliefs right. For example, a pessimist will be unhappy of certain things that have happened in his life because he will only perceive the bad things that have led to his unhappiness. He can't perceive the good things that have happened to him due to the changes in his life. This unhappiness maybe because of poor choices that he made early on or things that have happened to him and he has feelings of a sense of regret, sadness and depression. How can this person be happy because of the what he has lost? Well, the pessismist can be an optimist if he realizes that he doesn't need to make things "right" to be happy. He needs to realize that he indeed is happy and should look forward to make things better for him. He should turn the negative into positive. He should throw the negative out and invite the positive in. He needs to surround himself with positive people. He should not "chase" happiness or look for it in the future. He needs to realize he is happy as he is.