I just had a thought: I'm currently reading The Silver Chair from the Chronicles of Narnia, and very much enjoying the remarks and personality of the character Puddleglum, who for those of you who do not know the story is the pretty much ultimate archetypal pessimist. He serves as the guide for the other two main characters in an extremely dangerous and seemingly hopeless journey. He is very kind, loyal, and unexpectedly wise. However, he is often disregarded by the other characters as a wet blanket as a result of his persistent over the top negativity. However, once they end up in the midst of their worst danger and trial, he is very insightful, quick on his feet, clear thinking, incredibly helpful and to the surprise of the other characters, actually uplifting and encouraging in the midst of utter hopelessness and despair. And I realized that just like in the book, in reality it seems that it is often the pessimistic and harshly realistic people who actually do especially well coping with crisis and trying situations. I'm not saying this is neccesarily because of their pessimism, but I have seen this often in my own life, the lives of others, and the lives of people in well written fiction. I think it may have to do with the fact that pessimism tends to go along with an understanding of crisis, or disappointment or disaster. Sadly this all to often breeds a counterproductive and self defeating hyper awareness which leads to cynicism. However, I find it no coincidence that sometimes people who are put down for being "a wet blanket" often seen to have the capacity to think clearly and cope effectively in times of crisis, disaster and pain. Like any weakness, there is strength that goes along with it, and like any strength there is a burden to bear that goes along with blessing.
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