shiny happy people

So last night, we had a lovely dinner with our friends Jamin, Ashley, and Jon. Because of the varied personality types surrounding the table, we had a wide array of conversations throughout the evening. (Most of which will NOT be discussed outside that room. Ever.) One of the topics that came up was about overly positive people. We were talking about a particular person (who will remain nameless) who always defends people, despite their shortcomings or even blatant disregard for what is right. You know the type - they are always happy, they like everyone, and no one is ever at fault for anything they have done. Anyway, Jamin, Ashley, and Jon were all talking about how these types annoy them because they ONLY see good in people and NEVER see the bad. Baron & I just sort of sat there and listened, because I guess those type people don't bother us as much. Anyway, I got to thinking about that conversation this morning. This, as with most things, all comes back to moderation. Yes, it is great to be a positive person. Yes, it is good to defend people when others talk about them. [Ahem, Ashley...who accused me of being one of those people just because I defended someone. :-)] But as with most personality types, you don't want to take it so far as to never see when someone else is doing something wrong or harmful to others. On the other hand, you certainly don't want to be so negative and pointing out the wrong in others that no one wants to be around you. I have a couple of co-workers who are like that, and BELIEVE me - you would MUCH rather be around the goody-goody, over-the-top-positive, I'll-defend-everyone, people than the no-one-can-do-anything-right, the-world-is-against-me, you-will-walk-on-eggshells-around-me, people. (Wow, sorry for the extensive use of hyphenated adjectives.) Anyway, my point is that I would rather be around a hundred ridiculously positive people than one obscenely negative person. Positively.