Glass half full or half empty?

They say an optimist says the glass is half full, while a pessimist says the glass is half empty.  Some say it depends on whether you are drinking or drinking.  

A cynic wonders who drank the other half.  

The engineer says the glass is over-designed for the quantity of water.  

Then the physicist says it is half water and half air; therefore, it is a full glass!  

I even read an algebraic simultaneous equation theorist who stated the glass is equally half full and half empty, then half full = half empty; therefore ½ x F = ½ x E; thus (by multiplying both sides of the equation by 2) we show that F = E; i.e., Full equals Empty!

Buddha said, "Life is a creation of the mind," so the purist/physicist approach may be correct.  When I was young, Flip Wilson's character Geraldine would say, "What you see is what you get." A big part of understanding the half-full/half-empty question is understanding more of what we see and how we see it.  That is perspective!

Perspective is a learned filter.  We all have learned filters, which in turn make a personality, which then has altered perception.  We become introverts or extroverts, pessimists or optimists, depressed or anxiety-ridden, sanguine or melancholic, etc.…  Our filters make us what we have become. 

I am generally a purist.  I often answer the question, "The glass is full," and people look at me like I am stupid.  Then, I explain that the fluid in the glass is half air and half water.  Now, if they ask if the fluid in the glass is half full or half empty, I would ask if we are pouring or drinking.  

However, earlier this week, I read a new twist to the question that struck me at a new level.   There was no twist, but the expectation/perception of what was being asked was wrong!  I read the following:

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience.  

As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected the "half empty or half full" question.

Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: "How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter.  

It depends on how long I hold it.  

If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem.  

If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm.  

If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed.  

In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, 

but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

She continued, "The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water.  

Think about them for a while and nothing happens.  

Think about them a bit longer, and they begin to hurt.  

And if you think about them all day long, 

you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything."

Remember to put the glass down.

WOW - this really hit me.  I have held onto so many glasses for decades.  I do not know if I will learn from this, but it is enlightening.  I will lose so much sleep thinking about it and trying to determine which glasses may be released!  I may end up with no changes, but I need to make a change for the better!

Carry on, my friends, Carry on!