How cynical are you?
Just thought I'd make a quick update as I haven't posted in a while. I'm still not feeling well which is why I haven't been online lately... I think it's just a virus but it's frustrating. I haven't been able to answer comments yet either but I wanted to thank everyone for their thoughts on my last post; you've given me a lot to think about and I'll be following up with another post in a few days.
I haven't done much writing either but I've been thinking about an idea which could be different for me... it was sparked by a dream and I'm just debating whether it should be a screenplay or a story at the moment. I had this image of a man emerging from a fire, a shape-shifter, and everything's just fallen into place from that scene. I'm leaning towards the screenplay, but we'll see... I'll post a short synopsis once the details are worked out.
Anyway, as I haven't been able to do a normal post, who's up for a quiz? :) I found this one earlier and thought it was interesting. I've never thought of myself as much of a cynic but I am with my writing; I'm confident but I try to keep myself in check. Apart from that my result seems about right... I'm fairly positive but I know how the world works and my impressions are pretty accurate.
I wonder if being cynical is so bad, though? A cynic is often portrayed as pessimistic but I think you can have a healthy scepticism about anything; sometimes being a little cautious can be a good thing. What's interesting is how our impression of cynicism has changed from its origins, though. Originally cynicism wasn't about seeing the world in a misanthropic way as much as advocating a simpler lifestyle in the pursuit of virtue. It encompassed a number of Greek philosophies but now a cynic is someone who always believes the worst in humanity... as a philosophical movement you can see its benefits but now it seems somehow dishonourable. Strange how times change.
So are you a cynic? Do you think cynicism has its place? I'd be interested to find out. And I'm looking forward to catching up with your blogs again too. It feels weird catching a virus when it's still 26° C outside... must be Murphy's Law. Or maybe I'm just being cynical. ;)