Oh I don't know

I was a cynic.  Sometimes I still am cynical but only when necessary.  It's not easy being a cynic. After all, a cynic knows something others do not know - and that is a heavy load to carry.  Fortunately I have come to realize I know little or nothing and certainly nothing unique. So I have one less lodestone around my neck, which is nice.  I now self-indentify as a skeptic.  Which is a much easier belief system to carry around.  As a skeptic I don't have to believe anything.  I simply need to be optimistic enough to carry on as if I do believe and hope for the best.  It's a happy way of going about.  Not exactly Panglossian in scope but a little dopey for sure.  A Cynic need believe nothing either, except that little gem of insight that only he/she has (it's what causes the cynical smirk one finds so irritating).  It is like being the Saint (they're not real you know) among sinners.  With a wink and a smirk it's "Just between you and me God this is the most pathetic lot of sinners yet.  I say to hell with 'em, hahahah".  But that's a kind of extreme cynicism, the kind that breeds comedians and politicians and Saints.  Your run of the mill cynic is probably nothing more than a skeptic gone astray.  You know, a pessimist with a sense of humor.  There are dangers that come with the extreme Cynical way of life:

1. You dismiss people and ideas at your peril.
   
2. You risk being left behind to stew in your own juices.
3. Risk missing some of the more interesting bits of life.
4. Maybe worst of all you risk becoming "just another shitty old man" or Saint as the case may be  (Green Day)  
   

But then what do I know?

That's all I have for now.