How often have you heard that for someone the glass is half full – or half empty?
Perspective is a large portion of this equation. How you view yourself in relation to others and all that there is, will dictate the fullness of the glass.
Is your glass half full (or more)? Does what happens in life seem like it will work out, no matter what? Do you relish the experiences that you receive and the lessons learned?
Or is the glass half empty? Are you always longing for more? Are you thinking that life, circumstances, relationships, jobs all remain unfulfilled? Do you see what you have missed rather than what you have received?
The glass being half full is really about the perspective of life where you are grateful for all that you receive. You appreciate what you have – no matter what it is. Life seems to serve you what you need, when you need it – most of the time.
One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
‘Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.
Like the winds of the sea
Are the waves of time,
As we journey along through life,
‘Tis the set of the soul,
That determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife.
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1916
Alexander, I know that you are a ‘glass is half full’ person. The only challenge you will really find in this area is relationships with others who are ‘glass is half empty’ people. Do not be swayed that a 1/2 full person is a blind optimist and the 1/2 empty is the grounded pessimist. It is not about being one or the other – it is not centered in the person at all. It is about how you look out, not how you look in.
For that, I offer this advice. The people who are the glass is half type are rarely able to see what they truly have, they cannot see what the gifts are and what joys there are – in nearly everything. Those people should be allowed to be – let them go, you cannot change them. It is not about changing perspectives for you or others – it is about accepting that they exist and then seeking a balance with someone who is closer.
Read about “Belief”; those people are the reason that we who are the 1/2 full glass succeed.
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October 18, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Tim Schlink
Half empty or half full? I’ve always maintained that this is interpreted wrongly. If a glass is half full, it is still filling up and you’ve never had a full glass yet. If the glass is half empty, it was full at one time and you’ve been able to drink half of it. A life half empty is better because you’ve been able to experience some of life. A life that is half full represents the limited experience you’ve had and the experiences you have yet encounter. I’d rather have lived/experienced life than just be looking forward to what life may or may not bring. It’s the difference between a doer and a dreamer. Tim Schlink
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Tim, Thank you for reading and your comments – I speculate that you think of yourself as the 1/2 empty realist; and a ‘doer’. 1/2 full or 1/2 empty is about perspective that is not ego or I centered; it is about your person as a satellite in the life on the planet – not as it’s center. 1/2 full is about relishing all that you have done and do have – all the experiences, challanges that life offers and looking at them as positive (and yes, there is likely more). The 1/2 empty glass (life) is the one always yearning – always ‘dreaming’ the nightmare of what has been missed, what could have been and what will never be. It is all about perspective.
December 12, 2009 at 5:37 pm
Relationships « Davidwalker62's Blog
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