Hey

Every now and then I run into one of those optimistic people that are skulking about, lurking in the shadows, afraid to show their smiling faces in polite society.  You know the people I'm talking about?  They're happy.  They're optimistic.  They envision a future where good things are happening.  They don't spend all of their time focusing on flaws and defects.

Frankly, these freaks creep me out.  I cannot get away from them fast enough.
Pessimism:  A general belief that bad things will happen.  (Ed. Note: Not a lot of nuance in that definition.

I wonder if we're hard-wired into anxiety.  I can't imagine cro-magnon man relaxing around his recently discovered fire his a cozy, not damp at all cave, enjoying a nice brontosaurus steak, wondering at a strange noise coming from the direction of the cave entrance, brushing it off: "Nah, can't be a saber-toothed tiger.  I'm not going to let that disturb my sleep on this nice, soft rock."

I remember a guy in a meeting in Helsinki contending that the normal state for most people is mild anxiety.  He used the example of waiting for a bus.  He pointed out that everyone is looking in the direction of the still unseen bus.  Nobody is sitting there calmly waiting, patient, certain the bus is going to show up.  We're all thinking: "Maybe this is the time the bus doesn't come."

Just that close from a padded room with no door handle on the inside.