Optimism
My mom used to always tell me how much she admired my optimism. She was apparently very proud of me for being able to see the bright side of virtually any situation. At some point in life I lost that. I was trying to pinpoint it with my wife earlier, and I jokingly said “maybe it was when mom died.” Bingo.
Honestly, I think it’s something that has come and gone my entire life. I’ll hit points of extreme, almost naive optimism where I truly believe and connect to the idea that everything is happening exactly as it should. Then I hit periods where everything seems shitty and nothing goes right. I find I’m happier in the former state, often deeply depressed in the latter.
If 2020 was a jellybean, it might be a shit-flavored one….if I let it be. It’d be really, super easy to be negative and shitty about this seemingly negative and shitty year. Here’s the deal though. First: my son was born this year. He is fucking awesome. No matter what horrible shit is going on in the world, this one perfect beautiful thing happened. Second, and much more relative to those of you who didn’t have my son born into your family this year: our perspective determines the quality of our lives. Yes shitty things can and do happen, but they only defeat us if we let them. We can also choose to flip the script, and while I know (I KNOW) it’s easier said than done, I believe it’s not only possible for us to do so, it’s absolutely necessary. I year like 2020 could kill us, or (worse?) kill our spirits if we let it. Or a year like 2020 could show us that we have very real, tangible reasons to be optimistic.
Take a deep look at your own life, look for things to be grateful, hopeful and optimistic about. You’ll find them if you try. When you feel like you can’t move forward try and remember that in this present moment, everything is okay. Everything has been okay, everything will (in some fucked up way or another) be okay, everything is okay. You’re still here, still breathing, and despite whatever pain you have and/or will face, your optimism can only be lost if you let it. And even then, you can always find it again. Everything is okay, everything will be okay. That’s a start. We can build okay into GREAT.