how to see the glass

 

optimist vs pessimist

when considering the entirety of a person,

what should you include?

certainly the positive, the accomplishments,

how the heart and love worked through them,

what a difference they made with the moments allowed to them,

but what about the absences? the mistakes?

when they chose to follow the lesser within them?

negative values can seem to intrude upon hearts and thoughts,

I am an optimist,

I love people,

I love my relatives,

I see the glasses as half-full,

but what about the half-emptiness of the glass?

that's the perspective I fall into when I consider myself,

I remember playing Trivial Pursuit with my mother-in-law,

she knew many categories far better than I did,

but she dismissed that understanding as just common,

for which she deserved no credit,

instead I saw her as a master,

for what she considered, she knew well,

and each absence in her to me was as nothing,

just as each presence was impressive,

when we look at ourselves,

when we look at others,

how much should we notice the presence

 and how much should we notice the absence?

I want to hold both, and at the same time

 I want to appreciate the effort,

the goodness of the soul,

wanting to be true to that of God in them.

by Henry H. Walker

May 16, ‘26