[tforcram]

I think pragmatism would be the middle ground, or 'dealing with reality as best you can'.

I don't think it's possible to actually sit perfectly in the middle, won't you always end up thinking slightly positively or negatively about whatever situation comes up?

In that case I think that 'Expect the best but prepare for the worst' is a good mindset to have.

[deltasevennine]

Consider a rock. Is it negative or positive? It is neither. The rock is proof that you can be neutral.

Enlightenment is realizing that everything shares the same nature as a rock.

[8note]

Now consider the rock that somebody threw at your face, and knocked out your tooth. Is it still neutral?

The neutrality is gone as soon as people are involved

[deltasevennine]

You don't get it. Your blindness is laid bare by this example.

You present this example to me as if the truth doesn't even matter. WHY did the person throw the rock? That is the truth behind it all. Seems like a critical part of a hypothetical situation that is entirely missing from your example.

Your biases are so strong that you didn't even feel a need to mention it. It's like talking about a flying turtle without describing why or how the turtle can fly. You inserted so much emotion and violence into this hypothetical situation that basically you are blinded by the fact that it's missing a critical point.

And that is the essence of what I'm talking about. A state of mind. If you can't view the situation neutrally. Then you are crippled. Forever blind from asking the critical question and realizing the ultimate truth.

But let's be straight here. The OP of this article is not in an emotionally charged situation. She's a neutral arbiter observing a changing world shielded from all the flying rocks being thrown all over the place. And from this neutral vantage point she makes a choice... she says, I choose to be biased... I choose to lie to myself... I choose to be an optimist.