Optimism: A Story in Six Words

Young patient: one eyed. Flirting wildly.

Recently, Paulo Coelho challenged his blog readers to write a story in six words - uma historia em 6 palavras - in the spirit of Hemingway, who once wrote: 

'For sale: baby shoes. Never worn.'  

Hemingway called it his best work. Within 35 minutes of the challenge, Coelho had over 350 six word stories. I found it quite difficult! Do you?

But today, at the eye clinic, I saw a young man with his pretty beloved; he was clearly fresh from an accident or some other trauma, bursting with confidence and the ability to flirt passionately with his amour! It was sweet and real, and very inspiring. 

(There was another story - a patient so thrilled with his own existentialism and spiralling darkness of thought, that he found my smiles positively loathsome! And the more he thunder clouded, the more I radiated joie de vivre and bonhomie. Oh dear. Poor man. When I could not endure the rant any longer, I told him to read Thich Nhat Hanh and Victor E. Frankl and scuttled off.)

It was a long day, and I want to thank you for your lovely words of support, encouragement and advice. Optimism is the way - even if the sheep farmer from Hertfordshire may never agree...

Image: Madeleine Calaido Weber 'Flower in Love'