Ideas, Wine and Reality

Two quotes that I found today:

"Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about wine." - Fran Lebowitz

Ok, so what does it mean that I talk about all three? But this quote did make me chuckle, because well, these are all the things I like to talk about with friends. (Although not all of my friends like to HEAR me talk about all of these things. :)

"Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." - Philip K. Dick

I really like this one. I like it a LOT. To me, this is what it means to be a realist. My friends often tell me I'm being too optimistic or pessimistic by being what I consider to be realistic.

I submitted a short story to a writing contest a few months ago. It was a good story. It definitely has a chance to win. (optimistic?) But the reality is that there are probably at least 500 other stories in the competition. And I know for sure that there are a handful of really good story contenders in that group. So, the reality is that my odds of winning are fairly small. My friend said, "You have to believe in yourself! You can't be so pessimistic." I told her that I'm not being pessimistic, but realistic. Once my story is in the mail, it doesn't matter what I believe to be true, reality is reality. And like the quote says, the reality of the competition doesn't go away if I stop believing I'll win, or that I'll lose. It's not up to me.

The things I can effect, I do. The things I can't change, and that have nothing to do with me, aren't affected by what I believe. That's the reality.