People

Last night I ran into one of my old friends: Schoppenhauer. An old friend because for a long time I had a hard time trying to fully grasp the extent of S's phiosophy. Later on, in my life, I started to understand that what was often perceived as pessisism was more like realism. Quite a shock considering that pragmatism is so often misinterpreted. Yet I always inhabited the other side of the island, the one where optimists and pragmatics live. The underlying reason for this common confusion is I believe, people's own weaknesses. People need to constantly reassure themselves. They need to feel that their choices were right, which often leads to a blindful negation of reality, a self conforting quest for proofs that biases the whole picture. Worse, everything is often sacrificed to the illusion of novelty. While often, this lack of balance initially feels genuine it's just laying the ground for a tougher shock when reality eventually claims its rights back. The conclusion is probably enhancing the strength of pragmatism and moderation. And also as David just said...feel the right thing, don't lie to yourself. :)