If there's a personality trait I'm grateful to have, it's optimism.
As far as I can remember, I've always been an optimist. As if there's a core belief within me that the future will always bring possibilities and excitement. That things always improve. The world always gets better. We get better.
But sometimes, I feel that optimism has become a rare commodity.
Cynicism has taken over our collective consciousness, proudly waving its banners of pessimism, defeatism, and disillusion.
Yes, the world has become a complicated place, and life is not even remotely simple.
And so maybe there's a part of us finding solace in cynicism. Because hope can lead to despair, and expectations to disappointment. The good thing about darkness is that you don't need to work hard for it. It comes free of charge.
Brightness takes energy. It's a never-ending fight against entropy and the cosmos cooling down.
But isn't that what life is about? A fight that is not supposed to be won. Vain, but beautiful. The brief incandescence of a candle in the vastness of the Ether.
It takes an average of 10,000 falls to master walking. But more importantly, it takes 10,001 trials.
And that's the essence of optimism. It's seeing the falls as steps getting us closer to walking one day.
I've always been an optimist. Not out of choice or necessity. It's just who I am. And so maybe it's misguided for me to wish for others to be optimists too.
But I really hope that you don't seek solace in cynicism. Like many drugs, relief is just temporary. And when we become numb to pain, we become numb to joy too.
Pain and suffering are inevitable. They are part of the journey. They are the journey.
Like toddlers learning to walk, we're learning to live. Life leaves us bruised.
But we can always choose to stand back up.
So which will it be?
Another fall? Or one step closer?