Optimism

Optimism is the hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something. Optimism is something that our world often lacks with racism and sex trafficking and natural disasters all over the earth. Some believe that being optimistic means that you are in your own delusional bubble of sunshine and rainbows, and you do not see the pain in this world and therefore overlook those suffering, but by definition, that is not what optimism is. Yes, some optimistic people may be like that, but one can be optimistic about the future and still on a very real level know there is pain and suffering in the world. This is because despite the pain and suffering, which they know is very real, they believe that change can be brought, and we can all be better.

I've heard some say that they see no point in optimism, that optimism just raises one's hopes for them to later be crushed, and that can sometimes be true but I also believe that the exceptions to those cases are what makes optimism worthwhile. Many would say that Dr. King was optimistic. He was a man who knew the pains of racism first hand, but he first had to believe and hope that he could make a change in the world before he was able to inspire and accomplish as much as he did. You see, if there was no optimism in Dr. King, there would have been no reason for him to fight for equality. If he thought that his words would have accomplished nothing, he wouldn't have bothered to speak them. Without optimism through pessimistic times, no progress would ever be made in mankind.

Without optimism, where are we? What is there to live for if we believe that the world is terrible and there is nothing we can do about it? Yes we may have seen and lived through the atrocities of this world first hand, but if you simply submit to those injustices and accept them for what they are, you are submitting yourself to a life of stagnation. You are ensuring for yourself and your children a life of misery, but with optimism, you are making room for the potential of a better life.