pessimistic/optimistic/realist?

how do you view the glass? is it half full, half empty with a leak, or a glass containing liquid that is drinkable? Like do you think that you have bad karma from a past life if you're a pessimist. And how do optimistic people feel (i dont know cause im not one). And how about the realist, do you believe that everything happens for a reason, or is that an optimist thing. agin i dont know. and what about luck.... is it bad or good or just a myth. thoughts anybody?

Well, I personally view the glass as half full. I like to have hope and see the positive side of things. I wonder about realism though. When I hear someone say, "I'm just being realistic," it usually means that person is saying something extremely negative and when someone brings up the positive possible outcome the other person claims he's being realistic. Basically, I have always seen realism as a justification for pessimism. I for one do not believe in luck. Luck is too random and I don't believe in chance or coincidence. May the Force be with you.
Leena

Hehe, tough question... ooops I mean good question, errr. I'd like to think I'm an optimistic realist. The glass's natural state is not full, otherwise it couldnt be moved easily and the water would get dust in it (it doesnt have a lid so its not suitable for storage). I actually think the glass and its contents are seperate, and thus a glass can be both full and empty as without being pessimistic or optimistic, becuase it is an indication of the water level only, and not the condition of the glass itself. You see being half empty can be positive because the measure of emptiness means its less likely to spill.

If the glass had a lid and was used for storage, then you could definatly say it was half empty as a pessimist or half full as an optimist because the overall entities usefulness is being described in subjective language. I cannot comment on luck or karma other then perhaps its possible.

I prefer to be a realist. If I know the context in which the glass had recently made contact with the water, I can say (if the glass had been filled with the water) that it was half-full, or (if the glass had been recently drunk) that it was half-empty. Normally, however, I would just say that it's half a glass of water.

Though if you want specifics, It's a glass with half water, and half air inside it.

thanks guys so much. i like how people think and you guys think differently than i which makes me twice as intrigued. but um again thanks for kinda like letting me in your head for a second.

I'm realist. We are all going to die. there.:laugh:
Also, the glass is full. Half the volume is taken by a liquid that is drinkable, half the volume is taken by prefectly good air.

Full or empty... I just want to know who drank half of my beer?!?!

Hope for the best and plan for the worst.

I view the glass as refillable. So drink up and keep looking for the positive aspects of life.

ren wrote: I'm realist. We are all going to die. there.:laugh:
Also, the glass is full. Half the volume is taken by a liquid that is drinkable, half the volume is taken by prefectly good air.

Lol! I've not heard that answer before but I like it; it is perfectly valid.

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For the OP:

I think my answer will change according to circumstances. Right now, I'm an optimist. But if my house was burning down and I knew there was nothing to do to save it, I'd be a realist in that circumstance. But seeking to rebuild later and put the past behind me, I'd return to being an optimist.

There is no glass...

I used to be a pessimist, and I have been spending a good amount of time and energy lately turning myself into an optimist. Very simple things can help you accomplish this, like looking up instead of down while your walking. Everything you do is something you were trained to do, weather you realized you were being trained or not, including your outlook on life. This training can be changed, but it's like learning to walk again and can be very frustrating (as I'm finding out).

As for the glass, I agree with Master Ren, it is always full, the question is what is it full of? Water, air, half water and air?

As far as luck goes, I was always told not to wish anyone luck because who knows if your giving them good luck or bad luck? Don't trust in luck, trust in your own skill and training.

As I said the glass is refillable.

A pessimist believes we are going to die and that's the end of it. No hope for the life. The glass is half empty because my life on earth is almost over.

An optimist has hope that there is a life after death. Although they believe in the Force they just have not committed. The glass is half full because I think there is something else there.

A realist says the glass is filled with half water and half air. He uses logic and understanding of his physical world to account for things. They are the closest of the three to the Force. But still lack the vision to realize the full scope of the power and timelessness of the Force.

I strive to be none of these. I live for this moment. Reality is what is happening now. I will not die because the body decays but the luminescent consciousness that I AM re-joins with the Force to "live" forever.

I believe in the Force and the absorption of my essence into it upon my physical death. This life is only the beginning of an amazing journey and may not even be the beginning but a continuation of an essence that has been here before. The glass is refillable because I am an entity of the Force and there will be a "new" life for me when my body has past.

The glass is refillable, the glass does not exist, the glass exists while I use it and is gone when I walk away. It returns when I re-enter a room that I left it in. The water does not exist because it is not water...it is the Force, as we are the Force, as all things are THE FORCE!


WHOA! flashback to 1978 :whistle: so esoteric. Beat the bongo's and snap your fingers.

I had a second thought on this subject,(hey, 2 in one day )

Should we care about whether the glass is half full or empty? What is the reason for the glass to be in this state? Is there a need to water a plant? Is the person who this glass belongs to in need of hydration for an ailment?

Would it not be more appropriate to ask: I see you have a glass of water that is not completely filled, are you OK? May I be of assistance to you in any way?

The glass is inconsequential to the reason the glass was put on the table with water in it. A Jedi should notice the glass, but reflect on the reasons for the situation and not on the obvious.


We as Jedi strive to be Masters of the Force, hopefully by now we have learned to be masters of the obvious.



Please forgive me if this sounds arrogant in any way. It is not meant to be. It is a thought process that keeps me on my toes and thinking about my own faults and deficiencies. As I struggle to gain my enlightenment, I will stumble and fall. Please lend a helping hand.

Would it not be more appropriate to ask: I see you have a glass of water that is not completely filled, are you OK? May I be of assistance to you in any way?

The glass is inconsequential to the reason the glass was put on the table with water in it. A Jedi should notice the glass, but reflect on the reasons for the situation and not on the obvious.

A Jedi would notice half a glass and mind his/her own business.

Maybe not mind their own business so much as assess whether any mind should be paid to the situation.

No. Mind their own business. I'm a big fan of wu-wei, where inaction is just as valid as action.

"Guys?" Jack called over Con, Benedict, and James over. With all three of them seated, Jack poured a glass half-way to the top and set it down.

'Is that rum?' Con asked, doubtfully sniffing the air over the glass.

"Shut up." Jack groused, "Con, you're the pessimist - what do you think of this glass?"

'You didn't fill it up all the way.' Was his response.

"So... is it half-empty or half-full?"

Con shrugged.

'They're the same thing.'

Jack turned to Benedict, "You're the guy who's always obsessively optimistic. What's your call?"

Benedict blinked.

'Well... you DID fill at least some of it. That's better than not filling any of it, at all.'

"And the half-empty versus half-full..."

'It's half-way full, before you can fill it up to the top. If you'd filled it completely, then drank half of it, THAT would be half-way empty, before it was emptied completely to be filled again.'

"Kay..." Jack turned to James, "...And you're the engineer, here."

'Actually, I'm in school for accounting...'

"Shut up. Half-empty or half-full?"

James gave the glass a credulous look.

'Um... why didn't you just pick a glass with half the volume of this one? Then, it'd be exactly the size you need.'

Jack sighed, then noted down their responses: "Pessimist: Doesn't matter. Optimist: Depends on how it got that way and what you do with it. Engineer: Glass is twice the size it needs to be." Then, she drank the contents of the glass.

If the half full half empty state bothers you pour the water into a smaller glass.

While it's true that inaction is just as valid as action, wouldn't an assessment (even an unconscious one) be necessary to validate whether action or inaction was called for?

It may be actionable, if only to find a smaller glass to put the contents in.

I choose to believe the glass isn't a glass, but probably some form of illusion meant to make us think there is a glass and that the volume of liquid in it matters at all.