There must be a reason why english has an expression like “the sky is the limit”, but nothing like “the grave is the limit”. It’s not just a matter of glasses half full or half empty, it’s a matter of what’s in those glasses. There’s a lingering optimism hidden in the communicative ammo this language offers. An optimism that (I’m assuming) draws from the human desire to improve, the strive to move one more step forward, and then again.
And so even during this economic crisis, I still reflect about what I think is missing in my life. I’m sure I complain a lot about it, and I’m sure my friends are all tired of this broken record. On the other hand, I don’t find any comfort in comments like “in such times, you should be happy you do have a job!”. Where is the enthusiasm, where is the ambition if just being alive is good enough? “You should be happy you’re breathing”. Agreed, life is a great miracle, a great gift, but once it’s there, it should just be a starting point, why set the bar that low and be content with the status quo?
I’m sure a lot of this is cultural. I’m told in Iran, people actually have expressions closer to “the grave is the limit” than to “the sky is the limit”. I can’t think about anything equivalent to either of them in italian, so maybe we stand in between these two extremes.
Sometimes I surprise myself, I didn’t expect I could be such an optimist. I guess my glass is half full… of crap, of course, but now please forgive me, I’ll go wash it and fill it up with something better.