Pollyanna the Cynic.

I recently replied to someone;s blog post in my usual knee-jerk, flippant manner. Someone else replied that I'm an overly cynical negative bastard. And I suppose I do tend to expect the worst. It’s a defensive mechanism brought on by years of adversity. But I'd prefer not to be labeled as 'overly negative'.

Overly Negative people think they are perceived as more intelligent when they point out the faults in a given situation, rather than accepting the circumstances and moving on. This pseudo-intelligent pessimist seeks to cloud our sunshine moments because they're envious. If they can’t be happy, why should anyone else be? I am not this person.

My belief in Karma - my Great Mental Balancer often comes in handy when I am feeling negative. Occasionally I do dump my negativity on others and afterwards I feel obligated to pay forward the attention I've been favoured with by attending to someone else's negativity. This is not a fun past-time and reminds me not to do it to others too often.

I recently received some great advise about listening which has made the chore much easier to cope with: “Sometimes people don’t want you to fix anything. Sometimes they just want someone to hear them.” Incredible. If you aren't wracking your brain for a method to fix their problem, then you are really listening to them.

I always seek to diffuse misery, yet misery loves company. A truism often encountered in long-term workplace employees. Ever notice how the two most sour workmates always hang around together. On the flip side, being surrounded by positive thinkers could be pretty tiring too. 

You'd think you’d LOVE never to be unhappy ever again, wouldn't you? I don’t. How could you appreciate the special times of unadulterated pleasure if it's on tap 24/7.

Be kind when you can and think happy thoughts, people; just make sure to top them with a healthy amount of cynical sprinkles.

Digging ditches

I've been helping my brother dig ditches and lay pipe on and off for the last week or so. Probably the hardest I've had to work since the Great Pack Up and Move and has helped me drop several more kilo's.

We did all the work by hand to cut costs, digging through clay, shale and a million tree roots, and so what if I could barely move the next day after each session. I'm sure Jules can tune out the groaning.

The job was only necessary to drain a much bigger project underneath the house. Oh yeah, we all know how much I love crawling around under houses. Next task is to remove another 5 cubic metres of dirt before the block layer and concreters turn up. I can barely wait for the next weight training exercise.

Comfort Zone or Stagnation

In the past I have always found a certain level of uncertainty in my life acceptable. I've never seen the point in planning out a career path, with goals highlighted along the way. I usually get itchy feet in the 2nd or 3rd year of residing in one place, even if we break it up with holidays away.

Therefore the long stay in SmokeTown has effected me profoundly. I accumulated stuff that I found difficult to let go of. I got comfortable in a niche that had enough positives that they outweighed the many negatives of the place. And the "remote" location disconnected me from society and robbed me of my ability to learn and take chances.

I am going to change this trait if I can. I don't want to be cutting edge, but I most certainly don't want to be left behind.