By Lois E. Wilson
The other day, I asked myself the question: Are you a “downer” or “lifter?” It’s a question we benefit from asking ourselves every now and then. Our response affects not only our lives but those of others around us.
Walt Whitman wrote: “Logic and sermons never convince. The damp of the night drives deeper into my soul.” Those are the words of a downer—a pessimist. Downers may not smile or seldom have positive input. Here are some thoughts you might hear from them:
“Things aren’t going well. I’ll never be able to understand or do it. I don’t need or want help. Why did you do that? That’s a bad idea. It would be all work with no reward. It won’t work! Others have tried it to no avail. It’s a bummer. Why waste your time? I wish you would leave me out of it. I’ll never understand why you don’t listen to my advice or warnings.”
If you are a lifter, you usually approach people and challenges with enthusiasm. You hold your head high and often smile. You may not know what the results of your endeavors will be, but you feel up to trying to make them positive. You are an optimist. You try to lift the spirits of others. Lifters are sources of hope, vitality, and inspiration. Reflecting this, they may say in their words:
“Don’t mind what happened today—there’s always tomorrow. Let’s look forward and make success happen. The future is where we live. I know you had a hard time with this challenge, but I have faith in you. If we practice—we can do it and all be winners. We’re here for each other.”
Writing this column, I thought of my grandmother from Indiana. She had a large family. She gathered rags wherever she could find them, tore them into large strips, and crocheted them into beautiful household rugs. She did recycling before it became popular. She was an optimist.
James Branch Cabell observed: “The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears that is true.”
Let us remember we do have choices of how we interact with other people and how we respond to world events. We all need more lifters in our lives—start with yourself to be one. Robert Browning gives a dose of optimism in his verse “Morning”:
“The year’s at the spring and day’s at the morn; morning’s at seven; the hillside’s dew-pearled; the lark’s at the wing; the snail’s on the thorn. God’s in his heaven—all’s right with the world.”
Make it a life goal to always be a lifter; your choice may create a chain reaction of others aspiring to become one. All’s right with the world—the more lifters it has.