It’s very easy to become consumed with negativity. Wars, disease, poverty, the list is as old as time and ever present in various forms. There are pressures, both put upon us and self inflicted on what constitutes success, leaving us with a feeling of failure or lack of hope. But the reverse can be true.
To be hopeful and optimistic is not to ignore the present, indeed is not even an “easy” option but is to see the joy and possibility.
Be it the smile on a child’s face.
The cat lying in the one sunny spot in the house.
The birds with overly optimistic ideas on what is a suitable stick for a nest, but they still try.
The buds on shrubs and flowers heralding the impending and inevitable arrival of spring and warm sunny days.
A cup of tea in bed brought by a loving partner.
The sound of a concert stadium, the unified joy of all the participants.
The poppies of Flanders Fields.
The welcoming hands of strangers in Poland, Romania, Moldova and Hungry.
Around all these things may be challenges (indeed the worst challenges we can imagine) but to be hopeful and optimistic is not a simple choice, nor a naive choice but an active and often challenging choice. It means being able to see potential solutions to challenges. It means being the “supportive arm” to those who are burdened. It means changing the narrative from “half empty” to “half full”. It is to believe that things can ultimately be better.
I for one plan to plant a garden.
Looking onto the Marshes 