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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

A-Z blogging challenge:
O is for Owls and Optimism


I swear! I was into owls before owls went all rage-y. Really! It's not as if I'm opposed to liking something in the mainstream, but really, I *did.* We have had an owl in the neighborhood for a few years, and I named him Owen. Of course I would rarely see Owen, but we would often hear him at night. His hoots were always so comforting to me. That, combined with a fun field trip to a nearby wildlife refuge a few years back where I fell in love with a large barn owl, and my captivation was complete.

Owen in the fog, back for a recent visit

Occasionally when I would mow the lawn, Owen would be in one stand of trees and take off and swoop low over my head and to the other side of the yard. I loved that, once I figured out what was going on, and that he wasn't headed at me to take my sunglasses off my face!

He hasn't been around so much the past year or so, but I hear stories from the neighbors about "their" owl, so I think he kind of gets around. On nights when I do hear his hoot, it makes me happy.


Something about owls and their big eyes, swively heads and solid bodies have always appealed to me. Of course, when I like something I mention it, and pin it, and mention it again, and before you know it, I've got owls and owls and more owls. I'm OK with that. 

Twin owls: different birthdays, different friends, same fixated Sher!

As for optimism, it's a little like owls: It's gone mainstream. Ha. OK, not really; there's not quite the straight-line correlation here that I might hope for in writing a post like this. But optimism is something I've been accused of very, very frequently in my life. It has even been opined that I may be *the most* optimistic person someone's ever met. And they're not usually meaning it as a good thing. There's an edge of "you're an idiot, don't you know how bad reality is?" in there somewhere. 

By turns I've taken it as a compliment, an insult and probably everything in between; but mostly--especially lately--I just don't care how it hits other people, that I'm able to take a situation and figure out what's the good that could come from it, where's the hidden opportunity, and maybe even a silver lining.

To me optimism is a choice. Quite frankly, I don't make that choice as much as I used to. Maybe reality really has come home to roost? But, 9 days out of 10, I am able to greet a new morning, envision at least one or two steps forward, anticipate the backward steps (which I definitely am better at in my 40s than in my 20s), and set off to accomplish what I can. 

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

and

“For myself I am an optimist--it does not seem to be much use to be anything else.”

both from Winston Churchill

This is not to say that there aren't some pretty awful things in the world, events and circumstances that simply don't have a silver lining--pure evil, say, like the bombing this week in Boston. Where's the good there? Doesn't exist, and I would never pretend otherwise.

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.” -Howard Zinn

Would you call yourself an optimist? Pessimist? Realist?



What's this A-Z business about? Check out my kick-off post. And stay tuned for the random joy and nonsense I concoct during the month of April!

22 comments:

  1. Yes, it seems like owls are trendy :). i think they are a bit scary but very fascinating, maybe because they are scary.
    I'm usually an optimist but I'm not sure anymore...I think it depends on how tired and stressed I am generally.

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    1. I agree, Susanne, being and tired and stressed usually takes my optimism down a notch or two!

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  2. I like owls but looks scary to me...!
    Great post on owls and optimism! :)

    -Fellow blogger from A to Z!

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    1. Thanks, Me! I don't know why I don't find owls scary, but I don't--generally.

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  3. Great Post! I guess I tend to be more of a realist, sometimes on the pessimists side. I have an owl that hoots during the day. I need to remember to look up and see what owl hoots during the day. I've got a rooster that crows at night, too. I guess everything is backwards in my part of the woods. :)
    #1241
    A to Z April Blogging Challenge
    http://www.mauldinfamily1.wordpress.com

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    1. You need to get the owl and the rooster together for a duet!

      Thanks for popping by!

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  4. I wish I could be an easy optimist, but it's a struggle for me to overcome negativity, but I know it's worth the fight and that being optimistic is far better for me.

    I've heard owls hooting in my neighborhood, but never actually seen one!

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    1. Some days I wish it wasn't so easy for me, Faith Laces... maybe it's all in the balance?

      And I hear Owen far more often than I see him, too. I do love an owl sighting, though!

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  5. Annoyingly optimistic. I'm like your optimism twin. You know what that means, right? We should make tee shirts. :)

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    1. Off to design some T-shirts now! Very awesome idea!

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  6. If you are a Christian you have to be an optimist.

    "No Christian can be a pessimist, for Christianity is a system of radical optimism." -William Ralph Inge

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    1. I'm sure there are a few natural pessimists would might find that a hard row to hoe, Pa, but it gives them something to look toward. I've come to see optimism and pessimism as much more personality based as I've gotten older, and feel very grateful to have the genes to look on the bright side. Thank you for that!

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  7. Oh, I love owls too. There's a crochet pattern for an owl that's on my to-do list, along with about a bajillion other things! lol

    I'd consider myself an optimist. Even when things get really bad, I - like you, try to find the silver lining, or at least TURN the situation into something good and fun.

    Great blog!! This is Chris from Hooker With Yarn, btw. I just use my Google account because it's easier. :D

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    1. I have more than one owl in my crochet board on Pinterest, Chris. I keep meaning to fiddle around with them. I did do the bats a couple of years back for one of my nieces who loves bats, but owls would be all for ME!

      Thanks for popping by!

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  8. The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea...
    In a beautiful pea-green boat.
    They took some honey and plenty of money
    Tied up and a five pound note!

    The words are probably not even right but I think of you when I sing that little poem...the owl and the pea-green do that, I guess.

    Your Pa is right...we have so much to look forward to, so much to make us sing and smile.

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    1. I love the owl and the pussycat! Thanks for that memory.

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  9. I've loved owls for a long time too. I have an aunt that started collecting them in the early 1950s. You wouldn't believe all the shapes, sizes and what they are made out of. I love your white owls.

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    1. Your collection sounds very awesome, Rita. I would love to have a big collection of owls--you qualify as someone who was into owls before they were all the rage, definitely. I'm a latecomer to the owl party!

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  10. My o post was Owls too:)) We have owls in our back yard...
    Talya
    www.gracegritsgarden.com
    I'm a new follower!

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    1. I'm following you now, too. Finally will get to some blog-looking-around, now that it's the weekend...

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  11. O: We have a heron in our neighborhood--personally, I don't think birds should be that big. The first time I saw it standing on my neighbor's roof, it was just like the giant doofus in that Pixar short, "For the Birds." It goes fishing in our neighbor's pond so it hangs out nearby pretty often. I'd much rather have a timid little owl.

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    1. I wouldn't call our barn owls "timid." In fact, I just went out and told Owen you called him that, and he's on his way down to see you now. Pissed.

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