Being a pessimist is not the same as being negative. If you’ve realized that nothing lasts forever in this realm, that you can’t control everything, and that you’ll eventually die, you’re bound to become a pessimist. Having a clear understanding of your situation in the world inevitably makes you a pessimist.
Being negative is akin to being contaminated. Everything appears bad to you; you don’t look for solutions, see no hope, and find no way out. Your answer to everything is “no” or “it’s not possible,” which leads to frustration. You become negative because you have focused so much on the bad that, in the end, the negativity consumes you, and you become poisoned by it. Being negative means that you are under the control of what you despise.
Being pessimistic is different. A form of pessimism coupled with detachment is necessary for spiritual development. It is a requirement, a critical quality, and a test that must be overcome to break away from this world.
The opposite is wanting to stay here. If you still have hopes of having a good time, becoming a millionaire, or becoming famous, you’re not going to start searching for the true goal of life. You’re going to infinitely increase your attachments until one day you say, “This leads to nothing; I wasted my time.”
What if you choose to lead a simple life? You try to enjoy what you can, and if things don’t go as planned, well, that’s life. Is that enough? What will you do when you die? Do you know what happens after death? Are you ready? Are you certain there’s nothing after you die? What if it doesn’t end? Are you truly prepared?
When you come to understand that death is inevitable, that it’s like a ticking time bomb, and that nobody knows when it will arrive, you may become pessimistic and turn into a candidate to get out of here.
The danger is that being pessimistic can lead you to become negative. If you’re always focused on the bad, on how pathetic people are, on how shoddy the world is, you run the risk of ending up infected. Hatred is highly addictive, and it’s easy to go from necessary pessimism to a negativity that ensnares you. But why? Why does it work this way?
The universe is designed to screw you over, to ruin all your plans until you become pessimistic and want to get the hell out of here.
That’s why detachment is crucial. One must internally surrender and tell oneself: “I’m fed up, there’s no hope here, but still, I will carry on because I am leaving, I am leaving this place. Screw these imbeciles, let them stay here enjoying trash. I am going to prepare, I am going to meditate, train, read about transcendental topics so as never to return here again. I’m leaving this material plane full of narcissists and psychopaths.”
And just like that, pessimism will turn into enthusiasm because you know that you’re going to get out of here, that this is your last life in this place. By thinking this way, you psychologically detach yourself from the world and prepare yourself to never return. And there’s nothing more positive than that.
