A Pessimist, an Optimist, and a Realist

This week, we will cover a quote from a TV show that I'm sure most of you have heard of, The Walking Dead.  As a brief background to this moment in the show's history, Carol and Morgan come across a new community that is run by a man named, King Ezekiel.  King Ezekiel, to make things even more odd, has a tiger as a pet.  As you get to know him, you notice he has an almost noble way of speaking and is always saying things in an order that resembles that of Shakespeare.  And he is always spewing out loads of wisdom.  Take a moment to look at the image below.  Ignore the first quote; we will be focusing on the second one.

What do you think?  If you don't know what to think, well, this is another one of his oddly worded pieces of wisdom, so lets pick it apart to better understand it.  According to Google definitions, a pessimist is "a person who tends to see the worse aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen."  As we can see at the end of this quote, King Ezekiel is talking about a path, one that I would say is the path of life.  If a pessimist sees all of the bad things, it would make sense why he is looking down.  And looking down doesn't necessarily mean that he is literally and physically doing just that.  When someone is depressed, we say that he or she is looks down.  I would understand it to be in a similar light as this.  The pessimist is always depressed, and he keeps hitting his head.  On what? I'm not sure.  But why would he hit his head?  Well, if you have ever hit your head on something before, your first and immediate reaction is to look up and see what it is that you ran into.  So, if a pessimist continues to hit his head, it is like something is trying to get the pessimist to look up, and see the other good things in life, and that it is not all bad.  And, to look up, so that he knows where the path of life is going. 

The optimist serves to be the exact opposite.  Also according to Google definitions, an optimist is "a person who tends to be hopeful and confident about the future or the success of something."  So, whereas someone is said to be down, translating to depressed, another common phrase comes in mind here for an optimist.  Have you ever heard someone being referred to as having their mind in the clouds?  This fits perfect.  As an optimist will look at everything that is good, and rarely acknowledge those things that are bad.  So, rather than looking down like a pessimist, they look up, but not straight ahead.  They look up, toward the sky.  The look too high, for they do not acknowledge everything.  Both the pessimist and the optimist do not see where they are going.  The pessimist doesn't know what direction they are going or what is coming in the future, while the optimist doesn't know where they are stepping, and also, doesn't know the future.  Hence, the optimist loses his footing and is forced to look ahead to see where he is going.  But, he continues to bring his or her head back up.

Then, there comes the realist.  A realist is "a person who accepts a situation as it is and is prepared to deal with it accordingly", according to Google definitions.  So, they are not biased to one side or the other, as a pessimist and optimist are.  Instead, he or she removes themself from the situation and see all of the good and the bad.  Therefore, they neither look up, or down, but directly ahead.  They are not fooled by all the good, or all the bed, but see them for what they are.  There are always good and bad things in everything.  There is never something that is purely good, or purely bad.  But everything has good and bad aspects.  Therefore, he or she looks ahead.  They can see where they are stepping, and not lose their footing.  They see where the path of life leads them, so they can change their path accordingly.

King Ezekiel, in as little words as possible, was able to show us the difference between a pessimist, an optimist, and a realist.  In this sense, he very much resembles Shakespeare.  Look at everything we were able to pull from just three simple lines!  It is just as important how he said things, as to what he said.  So, based on all of this, what are you? A pesimist, an optimist, or a realist?

More Training - Less Bleeding

       If you were to get to know me as a person, you would realize how much of a military orientated man I am.  So, this week, we are going to do a military theme.  Many, if not all of you, have heard of the Navy Seals.  If you have not, they are an extremely elite group of soldiers that run highly confidential missions, ones that we will probably never hear about.  The only Navy Seal mission that I know of is the Osama Bin Laden raid, and is probably one of few that are pubically known.  Below, I have one of the many Navy Seal mottos.  Take a moment to read it.

        At first, you may think, how is this possible?  Run with with more ballistic gear?  Wear more armor?  Bring more bandages with you to stop the bleeding?  Where as these all could be the reasons... I don't think that this is the message that the motto intends to get across.
        So, how does one sweat?  Well, your usually sweating when you are pushing yourself to the limits in some sort of physical exercise.  So, if you push yourself in your training exercise, beyond the extent of your comfortable limitations, you begin to work yourself, and build yourself up to be stronger.  The more effort you put in, the more you reward you will get out.  So, "the more you sweat in training," the better you are going to be when you have to apply it in a life or death situation.
    This leads right into the next part of our quote.  Since, as a Navy Seal, you are better trained to handle these situations, there will be a smaller chance that you will be shot or caught off guard in battle.  You will develop this odd sixth senses, allowing you to have more situational awareness.  The harder you work, the less of a chance that there is that you will be found bleeding in battle.

Disclaimer:  All photos used in this blog are meant only for illustrative purposes.  I have no rights to these photos, and the link to their origins can be found below. 

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Navy Seal Motto

Eyes - Not a Quote but an Understanding

            Today, we are not going to be covering a quote.  Instead, we are going to cover something that I, Lazarus, have not been able to get out of my head.  It is something that has remained there for weeks, and I need to do something with that thought.  I have decided, that the best thing to do is to share it with all of you. There is more to this than just the science, so read till the end. 

            Ojos.  Oczy.  Les yeux.  Augen.  Eyes.  In whatever language that you want to refer to them as, they are the same thing.  They are those two round balls that are in the smack center of your face, that allow you to see color and all the wonders that life provides.  And they are different for everyone, different colors, different sizes, different pupils, and so on.  A little known fact about eyes, is that they actually don't grow at all.  The size of eyes that you had as a baby are the same size eyes you will have when you grow to be 80 years old.  

            At a recent visit to the eye doctor, I learned a new thing about the eye.  Have you always wondered why they dilate your eyes in the office?  What purpose is there?  To make your life miserable, by cringing every time you walk into the day light or a brightly lit room for the next four hours, right?  Well, depending on the doctor, that may be an exciting side accomplishment, however, it is not the primary purpose.  Actually, if you did not know this, your pupil is not a black circle like it would seem from the outside.  It is actually clear window into the eye, allowing you to see all the way to into the back of the eye.  The eye doctor dilates your pupil so that the window grows bigger, so that he or she can see more of the inside of your eye.  Pretty neat right?  You can see this demonstrated below.

           But, on to what we are really here for.  Have you ever looked into someone's eyes?  Not just glanced, but really looked, stared, held that gaze?  And how many of you look away very quickly?  I know that I have.  What causes us to look away though?  We look away because its awkward.  It makes us uncomfortable.  It challenges us.  And, most of all, the eyes can tell you many things about a person.  You are literally looking into the person after all.

          Staring into someone's eyes has the most interesting of effects.  In movies, at the very climax, the directors begin to drown every noise out, except for the two lovers, who are at the center of attention.  In some, they main character gets caught in a trance, only then to be caught having missed everything the other character had just said.  I had always thought that these type of things were just from the movies and the shows.  But they are very much real!  You look into someone's eyes, and then everything just seems to quiet down around.  You stop listening and you become entranced.  You become stuck, looking, absorbed by those eyes.  There is nothing that you want to do more, except look into those eyes.  You follow them everywhere they go. 

         Then, when you hold that gaze, it becomes even more of a connection.  It's almost as if you know everything that they have gone through.  The pain, the happiness, the sadness, the depression, the excitement, and so on.  And you see them for who they really are, pass any masks that may be present.  Just looking into those eyes leaves an impression on your mind.  Those eyes, the ones you saw and looked into that one night, for what may have seemed like an hour, but was really only minutes, become engraved.  I can close my eyes at any moment in the day and recall those eyes.  And every single time, I see something that I hadn't seen before.  A new detail, a new swirl, a new color, or a new shade.  I'll never forget those eyes.  Those eyes, the ones that opened my own. 

         Eyes are a powerful thing, and if you have the chance to just look into someone's eyes, especially if it is a loved one, you would be amazed by the experience.  Perhaps it will not be anything like my own.  As I have written this post, I can still imagine those eyes, following me, watching, and most importantly, I look back into them, entranced and trapped.

Disclaimer:  All images used are purely for demonstration purposes.  I claim no rights to the images above.

Links to Images:

Eye Diagram

Blue Eye

Reddington

       Some of you may recognize the man in the image below.  He is Raymond Reddington, one of the most notorius characters in the TV show series "The Blacklist," hosted on NBC.  He is full of knowledge and wisdom, which he seems to always be spilling out in all of his encounters.  Anything from a simple statement said by Leonardo DaVinci hundreds of years ago, to a personal story that conveys his point to the person whom he is speaking.  Read the quote below, and dwell on it for a short time.

         Now that you have thought about it, think about what has come to your mind.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  What Mr. Reddington says here is pretty straightforward, and there is not a whole of digging to do.  I will put what he says into a simpler context, if it seems to confusing you.  The first line "Revenge isn't passion" is stating that taking revenge on someone or something is not honoring the wrong that was done to you.  And that no one "loves" revenge.  It is more so an instinct that takes over, or an addiction, as he says similarly in the next line, "It's a disease."  

         Most diseases start off pretty calm, maybe a cough here, a runny nose there, or something of the like.  But, very quickly, they get to their peak of illness, to where you are lying on the couch, trying to do everything you can to cope and manage till it passes.  Without medicine however, a lot of people would die of the disease.  Revenge works in the same way.  It starts very small, a little revenge against the person who stole the led out of your pencil, or your phone charger.  But it quickly grows, to the point where you must have revenge for every wrong that has been committed against you, no matter how big or small.  This becomes an addiction, and eventually can become the demise of the person, or the person they once were, creating someone new, with a completely new set of ideals.  It ultimately breaks down the person, changing them, as Mr. Reddington says in the next line, "It eats at your mind and poisons your soul."

        Revenge slowly kills what was, and changes your soul, just as a disease can change, and even kill, whatever it infects.  I hope this new light deepens the meaning of Raymond Reddington's statement.  I look forward to discussing more posts in the future.  I'll leave you with one question to ponder however.  Do you think that there are any another hidden meanings in the context of this quote?

Disclaimer:  I have no claim to any images used, and what put links to all images used below.  They were created by others, and used here only for viewing purposes.

Link to image used