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Originally Posted by roachboy
it seems that the distinction between being critical and being bitter lay in curiousity about the world---which is linked to the idea that what you see is a variant on what is possible and not the whole of what is possible. you can see political work as making new possibilities. this is quite different from seeing the same activity as limited to pointing out the myriad ways in which the existing order sucks, is wrong, wastes people and their lives and so forth.
the former gives you space to explore: the latter doesnt. the former enables you to value exploring that space and thereby to get yourself out of living in your head: the latter doesnt.
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This is exactly how I feel about it.
I am sometimes (maybe even often) a cynic, a skeptic and a purveyor of dissent. I occupy myself at times with the abundance of atrocity and injustice that takes place in the world. My own life has had it's share of disheartening and heart-breaking events. Still, somehow, I have managed to keep, overall (occasional outbursts of petulance and frustration aside) a pretty positive outlook on life. When something is beautiful or fascinating to me, it is
incredibly beautiful and fascinating to me. And vice versa.
As a result, I tend not to 'sweat the small stuff.' And people who do. Constantly. In my office. Drive me crazy.
Of course, now I'm complaining.
