I think it has kept me from making some enormous mistakes, to be honest --

Not that I haven't made plenty of them anyway--

But my reality is that life is great -- except for the damn people in it --

I prefer to be......

Cynically Optimistic.........

in a Cryptic and Humorously overbearing kinda way..........

While I can see where you're coming from, I find it's more healthy for the soul to be a realist than a cynic. Rather than seeing the glass half empty or half full I try to see it as simply a glass. It is what it is. C'est la vie.

May I ask why cynicism should be a good thing ever. If it is a learned behavior then why would you want to learn such a downer way to live. Grab life by the balls and do it in a positive aspect.


Why you may ask because positive begets positive and negative begets negative. Well I look at cynicism in the same way.

And who they hell says you should let any person have enough pull in your life to throw a bomb or chia pet in your car. It again to me comes down to not a survival skill but a stinky way to live life. Look always at the positive and that way when a negative comes around then your can deal with it and let it go.

If you don't have hurt in your life at some point then your not living you might as well crawl under a rock and just die. Cynicism is a like a cancer........I personally don't want cancer of any form entering my happy place in life. And I am happy in life....and I trust people until they give me reason not to. And I would do anything for anyone because that is who I am. If I ever even came onto this site and was all gloom and doom people would think I had been taken over by aliens.

As I don't believe in evolution either I would say that Charles Darwin is full of **** and not look at this as natural selection but cynics as get over your big bad ugly self and start living. Go ahead stay under your rocks....or take a chance and start living life. How many times have I read Lex about the one at the store that you want....So shut up and stop talking about and get your arce over to that store and make her yours. That is the big difference between cynics and non cynics, non cynics do what they gotta do and cynics hide.


And if you think going to live longer with this attitude think again...You will die a very lonely old man with nothing nice to say to anyone and the man that all the neighborhood kids call that mean old Lex.

And it's the other way around cynics are that close to be depressed sad souls and that my freind is where demons can have a field day. A demon wouldn't dare come into me....I would drive him crazy with nice and probably turn the demon into a nice, loving, sweet caring demon...hmmm that wouldn't go over so well. gigglesnort.


And if you think cynicism is a beautiful thing...look at your lives and ask yourself, hmmmmm how is that working for ya.



I WILL PASS

So if one drowns, they ALL drown?

While on his morning walk, Prime Minister Gordon Brown falls over, has a heart attack and dies because the accident and emergency dept at his nearest hospital is too understaffed to treat him in time. So his soul arrives in Heaven and he is met by Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates.

'Welcome to Heaven,' says Saint Peter, 'Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a Socialist around these parts, so we're not sure what to do with you.'

No problem, just let me in; I'm a good Christian; I'm a believer,' says the PM.

'I'd like to just let you in, but I have orders from God Himself. He says that since the implementation of his new HEAVEN CHOICES policy, you have to spend one day in Hell and one day in Heaven. Then you must choose where you'll live for eternity.'

'But I've already made up my mind. I want to be in Heaven,' replies Brown.

'I'm sorry .. But we have our rules,' Peter interjects. And, with that, St. Peter escorts him to an elevator and he goes down, down, down .all the way to Hell.

The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a lush golf course. The sun is shining in a cloudless sky. The temperature is a perfect 22C degrees. In the distance is a beautiful club-house. Standing in front of it is Harold Wilson and thousands of other Socialist luminaries who had helped him out over the years --- John Smith, Michael Foot, Jim Callaghan, etc. The whole of the Labour Party leaders were there .. Everyone laughing, happy, and casually but expensively dressed.

They run to greet him, to hug him and to reminisce about the good times they had getting rich at the expense of 'suckers and peasants.' They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster and caviar. The Devil himself comes up to Brown with a frosty drink, 'Have a tequila and relax, Gord!'

'Uh, I can't drink anymore, I took a pledge,' says Brown, dejectedly. 'This is Hell, son. You can drink and eat all you want and not worry and it just gets better from there!'

Brown takes the drink and finds himself liking the Devil, who he thinks is a really very friendly bloke who tells funny jokes like himself and pulls hilarious nasty pranks, kind of like the ones the Labour Party pulled with the European Constitution and the Education, Immigration, Tough on Crime promises.

They are having such a great time that, before he realises it, it's time to go. Everyone gives him a big hug and waves as Brown steps on the elevator and heads upward. When the elevator door reopens, he is in Heaven again and Saint Peter is waiting for him. 'Now it's time to visit Heaven,' the old man says, opening the gate.

So for 24 hours Brown is made to hang out with a bunch of honest, good-natured people who enjoy each other's company, talk about things other than money and treat each other decently. Not a nasty prank or short-arse joke among them. No fancy country clubs here and, while the food tastes great, it's not caviar or lobster. And these people are all poor. He doesn't see anybody he knows and he isn't even treated like someone special!

'Whoa,' he says uncomfortably to himself. 'Harold Wilson never prepared me for this!'

The day done, Saint Peter returns and says, 'Well, you've spent a day in Hell and a day in Heaven. Now choose where you want to live for Eternity.'

With the 'Deal or No Deal' theme playing softly in the background, Brown reflects for a minute . Then answers: 'Well, I would never have thought I'd say this -- I mean, Heaven has been delightful and all -- but I really think I belong in Hell with my friends.'

So Saint Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down, all the way to Hell.

The doors of the elevator open and he is in the middle of a barren scorched earth covered with garbage and toxic industrial wasteland, looking a bit like the eroded, rabbit and fox affected Australian outback, but worse and more desolate.

He is horrified to see all of his friends, dressed in rags and chained together, picking up the roadside rubbish and putting it into black plastic bags. They are groaning and moaning in pain, faces and hands black with grime.

The Devil comes over to Brown and puts an arm around his shoulder.' I don't understand,' stammers a shocked Brown, 'Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and a club-house and we ate lobster and caviar and drank tequila. We lazed around and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and everybody looks miserable!'

The Devil looks at him, smiles slyly and purrs, 'Yesterday we were campaigning; today you voted for us!'

That's what it means to be part of a team....

Deb, you're missing the point. No matter how much you polish a turd, it's still a turd.

Wow. That's what I'm missing here. I don't HAVE any gray hair and I'm older than you. My stylist finds one if that, each visit.

I like gray-less. LOL

I also don't believe at ALL that life sux. It's a GIFT. Pure and simple. I believe saying otherwise is not being true to MYSELF.

Most people have also not been afforded the same luxuries in life that you have, either, Judy.

aaaaaaaaaah I see where we differ NOW.

But honestly if you believe in God Keith, that statement is a slap in the face.

He gave us life as a gift. Not a turd. WE make it that .. if it is.

As I just stated in the other thread, It seems to be more a struggle w/ terminology here.

Cynicism is getting a rap for something it isn't, completely due to a vastly differing point of reference of what it even means.

There is high math going on here, w/out a basics in addition. Real Tower of Babel stuff. Until we use a common definition, too many languages will just hurt the ear!

I dont agree with the grey hairs being earned, sadly I have a few already and I'm only 27, but that's merely genetic. Life doesn't suck, it's just not FAIR. I think coming to this realization is the point in peoples lives when they turn to cynicism as a way to cope. Life isn't fair but it's the same for everyone, no one can escape this fate. I say just deal with it one situation at a time and keep on truckin! Sometimes people will hurt you and sometimes you will hurt people, this is the natural order of things, this is human nature. All we can do is TRY to live your lives the best way you can and not give up and stop trying, that helps no one.

I have worked hard for everything I have. I am a single mom of 5 kids Keith. That has not been as easy as you think.

We make life what it is for each of us. Period.

And I believe God blesses us when we are thankful. I have always been grateful for what He blesses me with no matter how little or big. (He who honors Me I will honor)

It's all in attitude.

Life:

10% circumstances
90% attitude

Exactly. It's also something the ladies like to use as a reason for dumping you, as they'll misconstrue cynicism for being "angry" or "not participating in life". If nothing else, it's all about trust, or the lack of it as seen through the cynic.

And yeah- we need an International Cynic Day. LOL

"Hide?" Not in this case -- I did talk to her, and we exchanged e-mails for a couple months at the end of last year. Then it just stopped, and I have no idea why. It wasn't my doing.

You really shouldn't make generalizations like that without knowing the facts.



Try to understand that this is a conscious decision on my part -- i.e., I would rather be alone than have to go through what I went through in all of my past relationships. I have good reason to be cynical -- because every time I did put myself out there, every time I did try to be positive and helpful and supportive and the kind of loving, caring guy that every woman on dating sites says they want, I got burned. More like incinerated.

You learn.

You learn not to trust, not to take those chances.

I'm sorry you don't get it, but I'm going to be careful now -- I'm going to be cynical and suspicious and skeptical. That's what my experiences have engendered in me. And I'm not generalizing, I'm not saying "Why are all women manipulative and controlling and evil?" -- because I don't believe they are.

But I do believe -- based on my admittedly pathetically small statistical sampling -- that there are more bad ones than good ones out there. Because I've only run into the bad ones.

And I doubt if I would even recognize a good one, assuming one exists and somehow showed up in my life. And that's OK -- I can live without that. I'd prefer to have someone in my life, but I acknowledge that the odds of finding someone suitable are astronomically against me.

The "rose-colored glasses" mentality didn't work for me -- all it did was get me stepped on, time and time again.

You learn to let go of what doesn't work.



As is your right. Please don't treat me condescendingly because I have chosen otherwise.

But you forget, Judy -- God isn't perfect, either. It obviously shows in His work.

It's a **** and I throw it away





The actual definition of the word “Cynic” is described as the person with the pessimistic view of the human nature. Cynicism comes as an adjective of Cynic. It is a phenomenon in which a person is too pessimistic and distrustful towards the nature of any other person around him. This attitude makes him face a psychic disorder in which he thinks the outcome of any event to be negative and negative only.

The thoughts and quotes that describe this type of behaviour of a person are called cynicism quotes. These thoughts cast light on the various aspects of a person undergoing such type of cynical disorder. These quotes may be put into words by some of the most famous doctors or psychiatrists who are well aware of the mental states of such people.


A cynic can chill and dishearten with a single word.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.
H. L. Mencken

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.
George Bernard Shaw

Idealism is what precedes experience; cynicism is what follows.
David T. Wolf

The cynic is one who never sees a good quality in a man, and never fails to see a bad one. He is the human owl, vigilant in darkness and blind to light, mousing for vermin, and never seeing noble game.
Henry Ward Beecher

Cynicism is intellectual treason.
Norman Cousins

A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.
Oscar Wilde

A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.
Henry Louis Mencken

Cynicism is the intellectual cripple's substitute for intelligence.
J. Russel Lynes

A cynic is a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, and not as they ought to be.
Ambrose Bierce

It takes a clever man to turn cynic and a wise man to be clever enough not to.
Fannie Hurst

A cynic might suggest as the motto of modern life this simple legend - 'Just as good as the real.'
Charles Dudley Warner

Cynicism is the humor of hatred.
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree

It is only the cynicism that is born of success that is penetrating and valid.
George Jean Nathan

It takes a clever man to turn cynic and a wise man to be clever enough not to.
Fannie Hurst

A cynic is just a man who found out when he was ten that there wasn't any Santa Claus, and he's still upset.
James G. Cozzens

A cynic is a man who looks at the world with a monocle in his mind's eye.
Carolyn Wells

What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.
Oscar Wilde

A cynic is just a man who found out when he was ten that there wasn't any Santa Claus, and he's still upset.
J. G. Cozzens

I'm a hopeful cynic.
Tracy Chapman

The only deadly sin I know is cynicism.
Henry L. Stimson

Some people can't accept choices they don't understand. It's sadly ignorant for grown people to act in such a way.

It has nothing to do with not accepting anything. it's about "negative reinforcement"- learning NOT to do something again because of negative experiences. Cynics are just a little more vocal about it.