Half Empty or Half Full or...?

reply to post by PurpleChiten


I am an optimistic realist...the glass is always half full and I would prefer it to be fuller, however, the possibility exist that it could get knocked over and become a realistic spill that requires an optimistic clean up! Depending on what was spilled different options exist...the wet vac, the cat, the dog, the husband or wife...etc. I would hope it just doesn't leave a stain in my brand new carpet or on my favorite dress, then the realist in me will have to strangle the optimist.

lol...

A kitchen hand once asked a zen master the nature of reality , so the master called a zen student from another part of the house into the kitchen. He said to the student "is that jug of water over there half full or half empty"? The student walked over to the jug, picked it up and smashed it.
It took me a long time to work that out, if you can tell me why he smashed it then you earn my respect. Its not much but I find few occasions these days to give it.

reply to post by PurpleChiten


Glutton, Emptiness.

I thought those two words were highly Ironic to be placed together. Word Play.



Really, I see the World and my place in it, as a journey. I think the physical presence is a gift, not to squander. I will go back to where everyone goes back to. Where the Stars are made.

I am full of life. Never empty, till I leave this place.

reply to post by PurpleChiten


the glass has room for a slug of vodka

I was taught to only pour a half a glass.

You can always get more if you're still thirsty!! OKAY Mom, I got it

To me a full glass is potentially wasteful, and also a potential huge mess.

So to answer the question, neither. It's juuuust right

reply to post by PurpleChiten


the glass is always full, H2O or O2 and various microscopic bacteria

just depends on what your looking for and your perception of it.

reply to post by PurpleChiten


Personally, I wonder why everyone is so obsessed with drinking.

Really, though, the glass is just a glass. What we're really talking about is the liquid. There is a finite amount of liquid, and that is what people are actually speculating about. That liquid can be swished and stirred and sipped and stared at, just as it can always slosh out if shaken too hard.

The glass is both half empty and half full, always. The two states of being could not exist without each other.

Thus, the glass is perfect, no matter how it may appear to other people.

All that matters is what we do with what liquid we are given before it is all sloshed out.

reply to post by ottobot


Yea, What^^^she^^^said

Reply to post by PurpleChiten

The air in the glass is something, not tangible, but definitely not "nothing", so the the glass is always full, even if we can't perceive with our senses the totality of its contents. There is more to life than what we can see/feel.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

I really vary on that.

When I am with another person, my view depends highly upon theirs- I adjust to create a sense of balance with them. Like if they are very positive, I might interject some of the negative, or vice versa.

I guess my constant sense is that every moment is a balanced mix of positive and negative and if you are only seeing one, you have your eyes closed to half the picture, and that is where relationships and others are helpful- you can focus on one side, and they on the other!

Alone I always see both, and many times I have had people on forums comment that I am probably one of those people who can argue with themself for hours... why, yes, I am. I can hold a debate with myself and often do while driving, for fun.

I have a husband who is ultra positive- his way of coping in life was to deny all negative aspects of reality, and in some ways that works for him (he reinforces the positive) but it fails miserably in some cases where others are involved and a problem needs to be recognized and tended to. So I often end up being the one with the bad news while with him. He balances it well by being the voice of sunshine, and it works for us.

reply to post by PurpleChiten


The glass is neither half empty or half full. It is the wrong size glass.

Originally posted by Bilky
A kitchen hand once asked a zen master the nature of reality , so the master called a zen student from another part of the house into the kitchen. He said to the student "is that jug of water over there half full or half empty"? The student walked over to the jug, picked it up and smashed it.
It took me a long time to work that out, if you can tell me why he smashed it then you earn my respect. Its not much but I find few occasions these days to give it.

ahhhhh..... there is no jug

The schrodinger's cat of zen

Originally posted by BrokenAngelWings33
reply to post by PurpleChiten

 

I am an optimistic realist...the glass is always half full and I would prefer it to be fuller, however, the possibility exist that it could get knocked over and become a realistic spill that requires an optimistic clean up! Depending on what was spilled different options exist...the wet vac, the cat, the dog, the husband or wife...etc. I would hope it just doesn't leave a stain in my brand new carpet or on my favorite dress, then the realist in me will have to strangle the optimist.

edit on 11/22/2012 by BrokenAngelWings33 because: Edit

you have a husband AND a wife?

Originally posted by goochball
lol...

OK, the scientist in me demands that I choose this one!!

Originally posted by sonnny1
reply to post by PurpleChiten

 

Glutton, Emptiness.

I thought those two words were highly Ironic to be placed together. Word Play.

Really, I see the World and my place in it, as a journey. I think the physical presence is a gift, not to squander. I will go back to where everyone goes back to. Where the Stars are made.

I am full of life. Never empty, till I leave this place.

Very good word play! Sorry I didn't catch that, it was quite ingenious!

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
reply to post by PurpleChiten

 

the glass has room for a slug of vodka

Opportunistic when necessary!

Originally posted by MidnightSunshine
I was taught to only pour a half a glass.

You can always get more if you're still thirsty!! OKAY Mom, I got it

To me a full glass is potentially wasteful, and also a potential huge mess.

So to answer the question, neither. It's juuuust right

She did have a point!





for everyone, I did go through and star each post. I appreciate all the different perspectives

“There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty.

The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass! Who's been pinching my beer?

And at the other end of the bar the world is full of the other type of person, who has a broken glass, or a glass that has been carelessly knocked over (usually by one of the people calling for a larger glass) or who had no glass at all, because he was at the back of the crowd and had failed to catch the barman's eye. ”


Terry Pratchett
The Truth

Originally posted by Jooles
Reply to post by PurpleChiten

 

The air in the glass is something, not tangible, but definitely not "nothing", so the the glass is always full, even if we can't perceive with our senses the totality of its contents. There is more to life than what we can see/feel.

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

Very telling! Much more to the world around us than what we percieve!

Originally posted by Vizzle
reply to post by PurpleChiten

 

The glass is neither half empty or half full. It is the wrong size glass.

The container is as important as the contents

Originally posted by Bluesma
I really vary on that.

When I am with another person, my view depends highly upon theirs- I adjust to create a sense of balance with them. Like if they are very positive, I might interject some of the negative, or vice versa.

I guess my constant sense is that every moment is a balanced mix of positive and negative and if you are only seeing one, you have your eyes closed to half the picture, and that is where relationships and others are helpful- you can focus on one side, and they on the other!

Alone I always see both, and many times I have had people on forums comment that I am probably one of those people who can argue with themself for hours... why, yes, I am. I can hold a debate with myself and often do while driving, for fun.

I have a husband who is ultra positive- his way of coping in life was to deny all negative aspects of reality, and in some ways that works for him (he reinforces the positive) but it fails miserably in some cases where others are involved and a problem needs to be recognized and tended to. So I often end up being the one with the bad news while with him. He balances it well by being the voice of sunshine, and it works for us.

edit on 22-11-2012 by Bluesma because: (no reason given)

Very interesting perspective. I often find myself reacting more than acting when dealing with others. I see it as a way of being truely interactive with them. Unless our reactions are a result of their actions, then we aren't really communicating, we're dictating.

I spent a great deal of my life "setting the tone" and conforming others to my views. Now, as I grow a bit older (and hopefully wiser), I make an effort to interact more and to experience the views of others more effectively.

It can be quite draining at times and uplifting at others. I do have to temper myself a bit or I find myself doing it subconsciously and it can really take from our own persona. Those who are negative often drain me of my energy and happiness and I have to guard myself a little more carefully.

Looking at all sides of the argument is one of the best ways to come to understanding, we just have to be sure not to get lost in the maze on the way to the end. This is a gift that isn't easily adapted to, but you seem to have a firm grasp on it.

Do you sometimes feel yourself "shutting off emotions" while interacting? Perhaps as a way to protect yourself or even to protect others?

Life has indeed been an interesting journey. Our philosophies change as the years pass by, but in our own minds they are stationary. I'm not the same person I was ten years ago, yet I am the same person... the depth of our reality is completely dependent upon the perspective with which we view it

reply to post by PurpleChiten


Well it depends.

If you had a glance at the Glass being full at earlier time... then you could say it half empty.

But if you saw the Glass half full the first time you could never see that is half. The 50% might be its "full".

_________


I would also say Half full because the container is not at 100% capacity. I think being Pessimist in these measurement situation is wrong technically.