Go back 30 years or so and two cynics got together.
They compared notes on their cynicism and discovered they had both been victims of only being liked or contacted for the other person’s convenience or what they could do for them.
They became a couple, making allowances for fair weather friends and were cheerful, polite, and accommodating to family.
It got too much and they moved away, taking their cynicism with them.
A new area, new jobs, new people.
They were liked………………… until they said No.
Suddenly their new friends didn’t want to know.
They were labelled as unco-operative, awkward, inconsiderate and they moved again, despondent, unsure of themselves and wary of everyone they met.
They embarked on a totally different and simpler way of life.
New acquaintances of a different ilk. They all had something in common, and it wasn’t cynicism.
They explained their view that if someone was nice to them, their first thought was
‘What do they want?’
Nods and ‘Ayes’, people understood.
Then they realised it was not they who were at fault at all. It never was.
People had taken advantage of their good nature, then when they had not got their own way, struck out making them feel inadequate, pariahs, misfits, unreasonable and selfish human beings.
They are still cynical, but only when meeting people for the first time and if their initial instincts pan out, there is no second meeting.
Written for https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/79388113/posts/2381610331
Very good take on the Prompt. And more truth than fiction.
True.
👍