So what are you....an idealist or a realist and why?
Cowgirl
I would suggest that there is a difference between realism, pessimism and good, ol' fashioned meanness and spite which some people employ to drag down others under the heading of "realist."
For myself, I am by training and nature a ruthless realist. I enjoy thinking about ideals, and I'm happy to hear other people's dreams and note their aspirations. But, for myself and my life, definitely a ruthless realist. I am as aware of what I am not, as what I am.
I think this could be an excellent topic...looking forward to reading more.
]Well... I am realistically sure that I am predomanently an idealist. I love to see the goodness, the talent and the abilities in people. I love to act in love...even when it doesn't seem realistic. I love the movie "Man of La Mancha". I love to dream the impossible dreams I can realistically relate far better with optimistic people than with pesimistic people. I prefer to wear my rose-colored glasses. It's not that I am to dumb to see, the shall we call it "darkness of this world" and to avoid it or preferably to eliminate it as much as possible...but the darkness is ugly and the light is so beautiful....so attractive. They are both real. The light illuminates me and the darkness obsures things. When the darkness falls I realistically act out my idealism; I try to help in ways I can. I am a flower child of the 60's..Life is experimental in some ways to me. (Hey and I didn't do drugs, nor am I having hallusinations, and I missed the free love part... essentially...LOL) Although, I have "heavy" (like the hippies used to say..LOL) responsibilities. I deal with them both realistically and imaginitively....realism reigns me in, as well it should, and is the staple of all my decisions. Imagination is as they say the mother of all invention...and what Mother doesn't need it!
In life I think you have to be both..both are needed and useful..they often work well together. It is not so easy to face the harshest realities in this life. I like to have as many tools and resourses at my disposal as I can find....so after their cleared up or managed in some way; I can idealistically dream my dreams! I guess that's why I have been know to lack clarity...so if you don't understand this or have suggestions pm me.
Catagorically, the Bible is the real thing to me (within the fundementals of what I understand). Everything else is idealistic. But then, eveyone knows:
I'm in a perpectual state of dormant mental awareness! ! ! !
I'm an optimist and a realist. As an artist I am trained to see - really see what is in front of me. I seem to carry that over to other parts of my life. I can see what is going on and I try to deal with it in a manner that is appropriate.
OTOH - I also see the good in folks and I try to encourage that.
As for dreaming....well, I love dreaming! I don't want to be dreaming when the train is heading towards me though! So I've learned to welcome the more "pessimistic" realists in my life who wake me up when I linger too long.
You had said "As an artist I am trained to see - really see what is in front of me." I find this so interesting in a very good way, as an artist myself, I see or I picture the finished piece already in my mind before I even begin to take it on, or another way to put it is I already know what the piece is going to look like completed, before I've even taken steps to start it, and you see it differently if I understand correctly what you wrote.
In regards to an idealist and an realist, I guess I kind of look at the idealist as one who goes outside of the nine dots but DOESN'T necessarily NOT think things through, they tend to look at the big picture and may not always count the cost but they can still pick themselves up if it doesn't quite turn out they way they wanted it to. I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that I have a problem when people start telling me it can't be done, well then let me find that out on my own, that's part of the adventure plus you never know what doors are going to open up in the middle of getting there, anyways that's just my thoughts on it.
Being an idealist myself, I think you have to listen to what your "inner core" is telling you. Someone tells you no...Well that just makes you want to do it even more.. After having thought it through, and you still want to act upon it, why not? We're all different, and that's what adds spice to life. The truth is no one is going to see it exactly as you see it...
The reasoning, the motivation, what we wish to obtain will usually bear fruit with our desires if we just stick to what we know we should act on...
I sometimes like to fancy myself as an artist and, as such, tend to render reality in an idealistic fashion.
I've been a photographer most of my life and while others were getting their needs and wants parallel, I was getting my horizons and horizontals parallel. One thing I learned is that people won't as readily buy a portrait of themselves if it actually looks like them.
Being a realist or being an idealist don't have to be mutually exclusive. One can maintain an equilibrium and obtain a more ideal reality for themselves.
You had said "As an artist I am trained to see - really see what is in front of me." I find this so interesting in a very good way, as an artist myself, I see or I picture the finished piece already in my mind before I even begin to take it on, or another way to put it is I already know what the piece is going to look like completed, before I've even taken steps to start it, and you see it differently if I understand correctly what you wrote.
Cowgirl
Actually Cowgirl, I DO see the completed piece in my mind's eye even before I start it - to an extent. I also allow for what I call "happy accidents." Those times when I've understood more, seen more, learned more about my subject . Sometimes the paint lays a certan way and you just say< "That's it! It's done!"
Is that being a realist or an idealist? Maybe it's just being an artist....
I just found what you had said interesting, I wasn't trying to say because of the way you do your art pieces that you were an idealist or a realist, I was just addressing what you said, separately.
Quite actually someone recently pointed out to me <_< That Neccessity is the the Mother of invention...so I stand corrected. Ahhh but when neccessity rears it's head I use my imagination! Just for the future sake..Please for forgive all my future errors(a lot to ask ..isn't it)...and thanks for enduring them...I am still a work in progress!
So what are you....an idealist or a realist and why?
I'm somewhere in the middle. While I think I can be anything I want to be, I tend to try to be something that doesn't cause too much harm in life in the process.
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QuietThinker
I would suggest that there is a difference between realism, pessimism and good, ol' fashioned meanness and spite which some people employ to drag down others under the heading of "realist."
For myself, I am by training and nature a ruthless realist. I enjoy thinking about ideals, and I'm happy to hear other people's dreams and note their aspirations. But, for myself and my life, definitely a ruthless realist. I am as aware of what I am not, as what I am.
I think this could be an excellent topic...looking forward to reading more.
Cheers,
~QT
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RainbowsGirl
]Well... I am realistically sure that I am predomanently an idealist. I love to see the goodness, the talent and the abilities in people. I love to act in love...even when it doesn't seem realistic. I love the movie "Man of La Mancha". I love to dream the impossible dreams I can realistically relate far better with optimistic people than with pesimistic people. I prefer to wear my rose-colored glasses. It's not that I am to dumb to see, the shall we call it "darkness of this world" and to avoid it or preferably to eliminate it as much as possible...but the darkness is ugly and the light is so beautiful....so attractive. They are both real. The light illuminates me and the darkness obsures things. When the darkness falls I realistically act out my idealism; I try to help in ways I can. I am a flower child of the 60's..Life is experimental in some ways to me. (Hey and I didn't do drugs, nor am I having hallusinations, and I missed the free love part... essentially...LOL) Although, I have "heavy" (like the hippies used to say..LOL) responsibilities. I deal with them both realistically and imaginitively....realism reigns me in, as well it should, and is the staple of all my decisions. Imagination is as they say the mother of all invention...and what Mother doesn't need it!
In life I think you have to be both..both are needed and useful..they often work well together. It is not so easy to face the harshest realities in this life. I like to have as many tools and resourses at my disposal as I can find....so after their cleared up or managed in some way; I can idealistically dream my dreams! I guess that's why I have been know to lack clarity...so if you don't understand this or have suggestions pm me.
Love to All, RainbowsGirl
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polar bear
Keep on dreamin'!
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waysider
You may say I'm a dreamer
Well, I'm not the only one.
Hey! that would make a cool lyric for a song, don't ya think?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nothing wrong with dreaming as long as dreams don't skew reality.
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lindyhopper
I think I'm with Rainbowgirl. I'm either an idealistic realist or a realistic idealist. Maybe I'm realdealistic.
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YIdon'tgotochurch
Catagorically, the Bible is the real thing to me (within the fundementals of what I understand). Everything else is idealistic. But then, eveyone knows:
I'm in a perpectual state of dormant mental awareness! ! ! !
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doojable
I'm an optimist and a realist. As an artist I am trained to see - really see what is in front of me. I seem to carry that over to other parts of my life. I can see what is going on and I try to deal with it in a manner that is appropriate.
OTOH - I also see the good in folks and I try to encourage that.
As for dreaming....well, I love dreaming! I don't want to be dreaming when the train is heading towards me though! So I've learned to welcome the more "pessimistic" realists in my life who wake me up when I linger too long.
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Cowgirl
Hi Dooj !
You had said "As an artist I am trained to see - really see what is in front of me." I find this so interesting in a very good way, as an artist myself, I see or I picture the finished piece already in my mind before I even begin to take it on, or another way to put it is I already know what the piece is going to look like completed, before I've even taken steps to start it, and you see it differently if I understand correctly what you wrote.
In regards to an idealist and an realist, I guess I kind of look at the idealist as one who goes outside of the nine dots but DOESN'T necessarily NOT think things through, they tend to look at the big picture and may not always count the cost but they can still pick themselves up if it doesn't quite turn out they way they wanted it to. I'm not saying one is better than the other, just that I have a problem when people start telling me it can't be done, well then let me find that out on my own, that's part of the adventure plus you never know what doors are going to open up in the middle of getting there, anyways that's just my thoughts on it.
Cowgirl
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Lori
Being an idealist myself, I think you have to listen to what your "inner core" is telling you. Someone tells you no...Well that just makes you want to do it even more.. After having thought it through, and you still want to act upon it, why not? We're all different, and that's what adds spice to life. The truth is no one is going to see it exactly as you see it...
The reasoning, the motivation, what we wish to obtain will usually bear fruit with our desires if we just stick to what we know we should act on...
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Ron G.
I sometimes like to fancy myself as an artist and, as such, tend to render reality in an idealistic fashion.
I've been a photographer most of my life and while others were getting their needs and wants parallel, I was getting my horizons and horizontals parallel. One thing I learned is that people won't as readily buy a portrait of themselves if it actually looks like them.
Being a realist or being an idealist don't have to be mutually exclusive. One can maintain an equilibrium and obtain a more ideal reality for themselves.
But then that may be overly idealistic.
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Kevlar2000
I remember someone's signature line on this forum reading something like this:
Some people see the glass as half full.
Others see it half empty.
I just want to know who's been drinking my beer!
I'm being forced to become more pragmatic in my thinking due to age and experience, but retain a core of optimistic expectation.
It used to be, "Thinketh no evil..."
Now it's, "Where there's smoke, there's probably a burning bag of s--t on my doorstep. Maybe somebody left it there by mistake."
My ideal? Wise as serpents, harmless as doves. (Don't splatter me, Psalmie!) :D :P
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doojable
Actually Cowgirl, I DO see the completed piece in my mind's eye even before I start it - to an extent. I also allow for what I call "happy accidents." Those times when I've understood more, seen more, learned more about my subject . Sometimes the paint lays a certan way and you just say< "That's it! It's done!"
Is that being a realist or an idealist? Maybe it's just being an artist....
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Sushi
Hey Ron, have you gotten that close up of the horizon I ordered?
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Cowgirl
Hi Doojable!
I just found what you had said interesting, I wasn't trying to say because of the way you do your art pieces that you were an idealist or a realist, I was just addressing what you said, separately.
Cowgirl
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doojable
No problem! I was just commenting....
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RainbowsGirl
Love You All, RainbowsGirl
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Ham
I'm somewhere in the middle. While I think I can be anything I want to be, I tend to try to be something that doesn't cause too much harm in life in the process.
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