Moaners vs beamers

I’m sure you will have noticed, that there are two major groups of people we have to deal with. They are the moaners and the beamers!

The moaners are those people who can see nothing right in anything. They usually wander about, with a face like a bag-full of chisels, trying to find the worst aspect of everything they see. Even their clothes seem to reflect their personalities, they are unfailingly grey or brown in colour, usually old looking and old fashioned, and they droop about the person, as if ashamed to be there. The moaners also have grey complexions, almost a perfect match to their clothes and even their bodies appear to droop too, in unison with the clothes they wear.

The beamers on the other hand, tend to look bright, cheerful and colourful, even in the direst situations. They are unable to visualise defeat, and even when things don’t quite go right, they still manage to ‘take it on the chin’ and look around for the next challenge. Their tendency is to have good complexions, with rosy cheeks, a slight tendency towards overweight and an ability to walk with a bounce in their stride. The clothes they wear are usually cheerfully colourful and manage to look as if there is no weight to them. They float about the person!

Moaners don’t much like jokes, of any type! Tell them a joke that is a little politically incorrect and they will bristle with indignation, accusing the teller of racialism, anti-feminism or downright perversion. Write or say something that isn’t in line with THEIR concept of what is right and proper and they will go off the deep end at that too. We saw a lot of this during the recent, highly amusing, election, when the politicians again proved to us what liars and idiots they are, whichever party they belong to. The moaners have had a field-day during the past few weeks, a period when they could bristle with anger and indignation, to their hearts content.

The beamers are willing to give any joke a chance, unless it is full of downright unpleasantness, realising how hard it is to tell a good joke, or to recount an amusing incident. They don’t get involved too deeply in politics, religion or any other subject that might cause offence. They usually hold pretty strong views, but tend to keep them to themselves, or at least among those closest to them. Positive thinkers are more inclined to try to do something about situations, rather than moan about them.

Sadly, the moaners don’t seem to realise how much more difficult they make life for themselves. They are unaware that they have fewer friends because acquaintances soon get fed up with their negativity and look for more cheerful company elsewhere. On the other hand the beamers go out into the world and look for things they can do, usually quite unconsciously. They become volunteers at hospitals; they join local clubs and organisations; they smile and greet people they meet in the street, even strangers and they are unfailingly polite, whether dealing with a dustman or a doctor.

Life is pretty well automatically easier for the positive person, the beamer, as much as anything because there are always others willing to assist, in the event that they have problems. You look after others and they will tend to look after you! Be miserable or negative and no one wants anything to do with you, so problems have to be solved by you, yourself. This may be slightly unenviable, but it is a fact of life; we all respond to those who appear to care about us, more than we do to those who only criticise and moan.

I appreciate the above paints a picture in almost pure black and white, and I am well aware that there are all sorts of greys in between, but in 600 words, I’m just trying to give a light hearted look at the two extremes of the world in which we live. If I haven’t managed to capture every nuance of personality in this little piece, I apologise!

Can you identify with this and know some moaners and beamers? 

image: Darren Barefoot