What Happened
With cheery eyes I look back at the past, embracing with love that which cannot be undone—in a great amor fati.
With lucid eyes I look back at the past, striving for accuracy in my memories, treating them as historical facts that ought to be true, not emotionally valanced.
With gloomy eyes I look back at the past, understanding that what I remember is bound to be distorted, bound to diverge from truth.
What Will Happen
With cheery eyes I look forth into the future, knowing that whatever I will do, it will turn out for the best because it cannot be otherwise—due to my amor fati.
With lucid eyes I look forth into the future, weighing risks and rewards, managing uncertainties, calculating expectations, and evaluating predictions.
With gloomy eyes I look forth into the future, imagining the worst that can happen, pondering whether to accept it in my heart or choose another path.
What Matters
What these different vantage points show is that I’m an optimist, a realist, and a pessimist all in one person. So, is the glass half full or half empty? It’s practically irrelevant. A glass half full is identical to a glass half empty in terms of affordance. That’s contextual pragmatism for you.
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