Beauty Parlor For the Soul - Optimism

Throw a ball against a wall and watch it bounce right back in your direction. At least the first time you throw the ball, you will have to judge and either adjust or let it drop. This is exactly how life comes at you. Unannounced and BANG...in the face! And every time you are challenged by opportunity, you have a choice. There is never an experience without a choice. Always...

Along with this consistent gift of choice that we have, we also have the liberty to weigh things in special light. You could either choose the vibrant splashes of red, yellow, orange and green or the darker hues of grey or brown. The choice is amply reflected in the outcome of your actions and your persona. It is not always easy to be optimistic and see the proverbial glass 'half full'. However, it is also not very difficult to shed the typical mind set of observing the 'half empty'. The magic lies in the way you weigh the pros and cons. And these babies come along with every choice.

If you are trained to be a teacher and have to make a choice between a $2000 per month job in a globally acclaimed educational institution and a $700 per month job as a volunteer, it is easy to sit on a non-committal rostrum and choose the former. However, depending on the passion for the vocation and what you envision as 'fulfilling', there will be scope to choose the latter offer too. If you do consider the first offer of $2000 per month, it may involve moving away from home and family or extensive working hours, while offering you a chance to connect globally and learn more. Likewise, in the $700 per month offer, you may have to take up additional tuitions to make the effort worth your while, while getting an opportunity to serve selflessly.

In this way, every other experience in life comes with the ability to choose and every choice is balanced with a flip side. There is never a choice without the pros and cons. But there is a mind set that can be developed to make the most of every opportunity. You could either choose to be an optimist or a pessimist. Your choice of the hues is personal and part of the fabric you are made of. You could either grouse through the experiences or smile your way through. You decide. One thing is for sure, grousing won't help. It never has and never will. Moreover, a smile always lightens your own burden and that of others.

The old man was fed up with the situation. How could his two sons be such opposites? Here was the elder boy persistently grumbling at this, that and the other, while the younger one kept humming a tune and smiling his way through business. What was it that made them so different? There was nothing one was getting that the other was not. He treated both equally and loved both the same. They lived in the same house and ate the same food. Then, what was it! He just couldn't take it any longer. At his wit's end, the old man decided to test the two boys in opposite situations. He wanted to see they would succumb or surmount the situations presented. He called the boys and asked them if they were ready for the acid test. Both thought their father had sincerely 'lost it' and agreed to probably, his last wish.

The old man called for his faithful servant and asked him to do up the two rooms on the second floor of the villa. One was decorated with flowers and perfumes...the best money could buy. The bed was made, the lights adjusted and the pillows fluffed.

The other room was loaded with, hold your breath...dung! Yes, animal dung from the farm. Even the laborers were disgusted with this arrangement. What on God's good earth was he up to? No good, for sure.

Anyway, the rooms done, he called for the boys. He asked the optimist son to spend the night in the room full of dung and the sullen, pessimist to sleep in the room full of fragrant flowers. They agreed. It was only when they were locked up in the rooms that he regretted this one hell of a brainstorm that he had given into. What had he done? Anyway, with the final analysis of the two boys in mind, he retired for the night.

The next morning dawned early in that home. At least for the old man. He rushed to the room where the pessimist son was sleeping and opened the door. He was so sure that the boy would be well rested and an enlightened soul by now. But was he in for one big surprise! Oh boy! Nothing had changed. The boy came out grumbling and disgusted with the dry flower petals making such a mess. The air freshener was too strong and the lights too dim. Even the bed...it could surely have been a little lower. "Whatever you are getting at dad, I don't really see sense. Also, while you are fulfilling all your crazy whims, please get that room cleaned." God! If this was the case with someone who had spent the night in a room full of fragrance, the younger one must have surely slipped into a coma!

He hurried down the hall and opened the door to the room where the younger son was. Oh my God! The boy had succumbed! What on earth! He saw the boy rummaging through the dung, ever so happy. He was on some kind of a treasure hunt. He looked and looked for something and even sang the barnyard song! Was the child hallucinating? Had he gone 'cookie'? Poor boy! Then suddenly the boy stopped and looked at his father. He held out his hands full of animal dung and invited his father. "Dad, come...help. If the dung's here, I'm sure the horse is here too!"

How many times do we see people in similar situations reacting differently? It is not uncommon to see Mr. Richie Rich glum and morose in comparison to a competitor, as moneyed, who makes jocund company. It is also not uncommon to come across a poor person smiling and serving while struggling to make two ends meet and another in a similar situation, cursing and swearing. It is all in the attitude and the attitude is yours to mold. It is not an easy process to suddenly start smiling at life, especially if you have always been the grouse. Nevertheless, now you know. And, in life lessons come from the most unexpected sources. While sharing my viewpoint, I offer myself the opportunity to reinforce the correct attitude into my own life and by reading and acknowledging a lesson, you present to yourself the chance to change!

"Dad, come...help. If the dung's here, I'm sure the horse is here too!"

Life is like that! Every opportunity taps potential. You have to be very attentive and weigh both sides of the opportunity presented to make a choice that you can be accountable for. You can never blame your attitude on people and circumstances. I can either smile and enjoy the ice-cream, or think about the calories and damage to my pearly whites and grumble as I lick the dollop!

Optimism and pessimism do not counter or hold back opportunity. It will come either way. It is in your attitude of acceptance that the action will bear fruit. You make a choice every day...about hundreds of things and all of them bear down or lighten the atmosphere. Sit down a while. Think. Observe every choice you make. Dare to make a difference. If you are looking for suppleness and a radiant, healthy skin tone, then the prescription is a daily dose of the tonic: optimism.