Broken spirits

A favourite ditty in school went like this...."a merry heart is like a medicine,a broken spirit dries the bones". Sure that this was a biblical verse that was taught to us but years later having mastered in psychology and having to deal with people all the time,it amazes me how true it is.

I wouldn't describe myself as an eternal optimist I face I probably lean toward pessimism more like. Over the years as life threw a few hardships my way this lesson came in as a handy dictum. 

What is it about people that makes some give up so easily and others to see the bright side of like.

Living with a negative person requires tremendous will power to rise above it. My mother gives up easily,she wallows in misery and it keeps he going but to deal with it can be the biggest challenge one faces. Of ours illness and old age are all causes for worry and feeling listless can ,make most people low in spirit but when it consumes ones life it can get difficult. 

Having said that I have watched women give up the better part of their youth to care for old parents with not a murmur or I'll temper. Most of them emerge out of this suddenly finding their lives empty having not lived through youth yes strangely satisfied of a job well done and hope for a better tomorrow. So does it all come down to the eternal question of genes vs environment.

To give back for what you have received is a loving things to do,but for someone like me on the cusp of optimism and pessimism it's an eternal tight rope walk. Prone to doubts and depression myself it is a battle to keep spirits up more so when one doesn't have the luxury of choosing any one. I read and escape to the world of fiction only to find the characters in my books have similar situations,it gives me strength,then I talk long hours to like minded friends who form the core of my support group.

Writing it all down helps too,but the sure short way to keep still and keep going is to escape into a happy world ,for some it's fiction,some take to drink some to friends but what ones chooses to escape into is also decided by ones personality. Am I the kind who thinks I am in charge of my life or do I believe that someone decided and I follow. Happiness unfortunately can't be outsources,it comes from ones core,it is in our hands and no one else can do it for us and therein lies the dilemma.