Thoughts and Reflections | After spending time with extremely optimistic people, I came to accept my own negative aspects

A while ago, when I was doing a part-time job, I met a very positive and optimistic person. In my past life, I had never encountered such a person with such a positive outlook on life. She was from Shandong and was around forty or fifty years old. 
When I first saw her, she was wearing a greenish-blue gradient dress. This dress highlighted her fair skin. She was tall and had a large frame, and her body type was immediately recognizable as that of someone from the north. Her posture was upright, and as she walked towards me, I felt a sense of upward energy. Her clothing masked this energy, adding a touch of femininity to her. As she walked, the movement of her dress was like the gentle ripples on the surface of a lake. The most attractive part of her face was her pair of bright and expressive big eyes. They were so clear and beautiful beyond her age, with a strong and powerful gaze. 
The content of our part-time job is: handling returned clothes in the warehouse. The process is as follows: First, drag two large bags of clothes to your workstation. Prepare the necessary packaging bags and cardboard for folding clothes. Then, start checking if the clothes have stains, damages, loose threads, or tangled wires and other defects. Next, fold the qualified clothes and put them in bags. After each piece of clothing is packed, place it in an empty bag at your workstation. When the bag is full of clothes, place it in the designated shelving area. 
On average, about a thousand pieces of clothes need to be folded each day. The worker keeps repeating the action of folding clothes with both hands. Excluding the time for meals, one needs to work for eleven hours a day. The warehouse's requirement is to fold as many and as quickly as possible. Those who are too slow will be asked to leave and go home. 
Under such circumstances, before the working hours began, this lady already started her preparations. She first effortlessly and with one hand alone dragged a large sack of clothes that needed to be processed to her workstation. This large sack of clothes was so heavy that most of her colleagues needed to work together with two hands to carry it. However, she seemed to handle it with ease and without any effort. The posture of being full of strength somewhat made the frail me feel envious. Then, she went to fetch about ten bundles of packaging bags and two stacks of full paper sheets and placed them on the workbench. At this point, there were still ten minutes until the start of work, and she began to fold the clothes. 
I checked the time and asked her in confusion, "Didn't you start work yet? Why did you start folding clothes?" She said calmly, "The early bird gets the worm. I already fold fewer clothes than others. If I don't hurry up, I won't be able to finish." I then tried to persuade her gently, "Don't worry, you only work for ten hours a day. Fold as much as you can. Don't overexert yourself." She continued to fold the clothes with her hands and said with a smile, "I don't feel tired at all. This kind of work is just for me to relax." Her voice was very loud and resonant, full of confidence. 
Her words made me feel ashamed. Compared to her, after a day of work, when I got home, apart from doing the basic hygiene tasks, all I wanted was to go to bed and rest as soon as possible. I didn't have the energy to do any extra chores. But I was very impressed and curious about this person who was so energetic and had endless drive. How did she manage to do that? 
It was time to go to work, and we began our day of hard work. This work area can accommodate four people. I started folding clothes, folding and folding without stopping, there were always more clothes to fold. While folding the clothes, I was constantly looking forward to lunchtime, then dinnertime, and finally the end of work. Perhaps it's because the work is so boring and monotonous that it makes people yearn for free time even more intensely. And the work pace forces one to focus entirely on folding the clothes. 
In the morning, since we weren't familiar with each other, we didn't talk much except for the necessary work communication. At twelve o'clock, it was lunchtime. During the meal, the eldest sister shared a bag of fresh small tangerines she had brought with us, giving one to each of us. While distributing the tangerines, she also said, "Food is more delicious when shared among everyone. Eating it alone doesn't make it as tasty." In this kind of low-level job, sharing food seems to me to be a kind and generous act of kindness. 
This mango successfully broke the ice among the four of us. After lunch, she muttered to us, "This mango has a lot of water content, but it feels very sour. Do you think it's sour or not?" The girl sitting next to me replied to her, "Not yet. Let's eat it when we get home. After having lunch, we won't have much time to eat fruits. Green mangoes need to be kept for a few days to become sweeter." 
She: "But after being stored for a long time, the fruits don't seem fresh anymore and they don't have as much moisture as before. This kind of mango is not sweet. I used to like picking mangoes from the orchard. The fruits picked directly from the tree are plump and juicy, and they taste especially delicious when eaten whole." 
She then went on to recount a long story about her experiences with food. 
"Once, I came all the way to Guangzhou just to have a bowl of rice noodle soup. I bought a ticket to come here specifically to enjoy that dish." 
I exclaimed, "Are you coming from the north to Guangzhou?" 
She: "She would come to Shenzhen for a trip. Suddenly, she really wanted to eat rice noodles. If she couldn't get them, she would feel very uncomfortable all over. After eating them, she would go back home." 
I: "Ah! Just for a bowl of rice noodle soup, I came to Guangzhou. How delicious must the rice noodles be here?" 
She: "It really is quite delicious. What's the point of that? Before, I even took a bus and subway for two hours just to buy a jar of chili sauce. That chili sauce was also from a rice noodle shop. Their chili sauce was extremely fragrant. Although there were other places with good chili sauce, he wouldn't sell it to you. I had to take a special trip by bus to buy it from this store." 
Her mouth was like a bubble machine that children play with - a simple press would release a continuous stream of bubbles. She was truly full of witty remarks and used quite a variety of words. This led me to suspect that she enjoys reading. Later, she talked about her experience of picking kapok flowers in Guangzhou. 
"Only when I came to Guangzhou did I learn that the kapok flowers can be used to make soup and soak feet. They can help eliminate dampness and enhance immunity, and have many benefits." 
I: "The kapok flower is a kind of medicinal herb. It is indeed effective in removing dampness. In spring, many local people in Guangzhou would pick it and dry it. After drying, they would use it to make soup and drink it. But I don't know if it tastes good." 
"Since I learned how wonderful the kapok flowers were, whenever I had free time, I would go pick them. The petals of the kapok flowers are soft and feel very comfortable when touched. When the flowers fall off, they are still intact flowers. When the wind blows, the ground is covered with flowers. But be careful not to get hit by them, because hitting someone can be very painful. Once I was hit by one of them." 
"Then how did you feel after drinking the kapok flower?" 
"After I finished drinking, I felt my body became much more refreshed. I picked a lot of kapok flowers. Would you like some? If you do, I'll bring some for you tomorrow." 
"Bring as much as you have and I'll give it a try to see if it works." 
At first, I didn't take this seriously. When she asked me this question, I simply answered her. But the next day, she brought it to me. However, I wasn't doing any part-time job that day. So she said in the part-time work group, "The magnolia flowers are on the table." When I went to do my part-time job, I got the magnolia flowers she had placed on the table. At that moment, my heart was scorched by her passionate enthusiasm. 
After listening to her long account of her culinary experiences, I was eager to verify if my assumption was correct. So I asked, "Don't you often read books? From what you're saying, it seems that you have a very rich vocabulary." 
"When I'm not working here, I go to the library to read books. But there are some books in the library that you're not allowed to take home to read. Besides reading, I also enjoy writing. I'm writing this book about my own life. I've filled a whole cabinet with my writings." 
"Of course. Before I moved to where I'm currently living, I often went to the library near my house. The air conditioning in the library was very strong, and it was especially comfortable to take a break from work and cool off there in the summer." I deliberately avoided mentioning the time when I read and wrote there. But during the days we worked together, because I mentioned going to the library, she firmly believed that I also enjoyed reading. 
For the following few days, I didn't go to work there as a part-time employee. When I went to work there again, the colleague who was doing the part-time job told me that during the two days I was absent, she had cleaned the dusty fan and forcefully opened the windows to their maximum extent. That filthy hanging fan, covered with a thick layer of dust, didn't produce any wind even when fully opened. 
Before she came, Guangzhou in May had become so hot that air conditioning was necessary. No one would bother to do such a troublesome thing. But she didn't find it troublesome at all. She heard that she stood on a stool and used a rag to wipe it clean one piece at a time. Even though the fan only blew a very weak breeze towards the place where she was sitting. 
Later she said that she had worked elsewhere before. To make things convenient for her job, she brought a broom from home to sweep the floor and even paid for a hot water bottle... Sometimes I even wondered if she had so much strength that she couldn't exert it anywhere. I often said that she was really like a cow - having endless energy to use. 
I worked with her for two months. Every day, she would come to work wearing makeup and various beautiful dresses. What shocked me the most was that she would sometimes come to work wearing shorter high heels. The key point is that she could carry a large bag of clothes by herself even wearing high heels. Maybe elegance and strength can coexist. As long as the strength is sufficient. 
Watching her so neatly go to work, I, a lazy person myself, would never be able to do it. I asked her, "Isn't it tiring to put on makeup and dress up every day for work?" 
She: "I'm not tired at all. Since I was young, I would always put on makeup whenever I went out, even for simple tasks like going to the grocery store. I usually finish my makeup in just ten minutes. Unlike the young girls nowadays who spend an hour or more on makeup. Good clothes don't have to be worn on specific days. You can't wait for that. Every day is a special day. You can wear whatever you want as long as it doesn't interfere with my work. And every day I dress myself up beautifully. My mood will also be great. Those of you who don't like to dress up are called 'disorganized' in our place." 
She indeed comes to work and leaves work every day with a happy mood. This kind of middle-aged woman, who is not regimented, not drained of energy, and not anxious, is rarely encountered in reality. It seems as if someone had implanted an optimistic chip in her, making her always positive and always optimistic. Her mental state is as strong and powerful as her vitality. 
Her words had an impact on me. I always thought about going out to play, going on trips, and wearing nice clothes. But when I went to work, I would wear ugly clothes. As a result, the days when I actually wore the clothes I liked were very few. Under her influence, if I want to wear nice clothes today, I will do so. And if I want to wear ugly clothes for work tomorrow, I will do that. Indeed, changing small habits in life can bring a sense of small but genuine happiness. 
During these two months, she worked 11 hours every day for her part-time job, and then spent another 2-3 hours doing another part-time job after work. She doesn't feel tired. She said, "I have a job now. I've been working for several months. When I stop working, I'll go to live in Yunnan for two months." 
High energy has given her high vitality, and her high vitality stems from her constant abundance of love. Even at this age, her parents give her lucky money every New Year, and her son is the kind who is obedient and sensible. She said, "I don't have anything to be unhappy about. For them, I have to work hard. Working hard can also allow me to reward myself with something from time to time." 
Her lack of internal friction is also reflected in the following incident. Once, while we were working and chatting together, we were caught by the warehouse supervisor. The supervisor even threatened us: "Your place is just like a market - so noisy... This won't happen again. Otherwise, all of you should stop working." After being lectured by the supervisor, except for her, the other two part-time workers and I began to remain silent and focus on our work. But she persuaded us: "It's okay. We're just his job. He's just jealous that we are working so happily." I have to say, this mindset is truly amazing. 
A person's physical condition can also affect their state of mind. For instance, I am the kind of person who always has pain here and there. If the body is constantly experiencing pain and discomfort, it is very difficult for a person to concentrate on doing things. Because all the energy has to be spent on fighting against the illness. Apart from not having such physical condition, I also haven't had the experience of being well-loved by others. And the most important thing is, after having seen such positive people, I found that I don't want to be an always-positive person. It can be said that pessimism occupies half of my thoughts. Optimism will grow on its own to control my pessimism after I have become extremely pessimistic. I began to accept my pessimism calmly. I'm not a completely positive person, and I'm not wrong. This is just my choice.