Dedicated to those brave enough to espouse optimism

 "One tragedy of our time is the willingness of realists, in spite of impending crises, to criticize and obstruct people who expend their energy toward finding solutions. Their judgments, however, are superficial and conventional, and their attitude distances them from the essential quality of reality—change. Often the wisest realists cannot escape this trap. The challenge, then, is to create a new kind of reality that offers hope for changing the world." from Buddhism Day by Day: Wisdom for Modern Life by Daisaku Ikenda

I find this very apt in light of our economic and political climate, in which it is so tempting to adopt a defeatist attitude and a victim mentality. Often, when the subject of the economy or politics is brought up, I hear anger and defeat and frustration. I hear blame, accusations, hopelessness. The voice of hope, of encouragement, of positive belief in our own potential to change our situation, is all but lost. If it's not drowned out, it is scoffed at, ridiculed, called naive.

But isn't it more realistic to work towards a solution, however impossible it might seem, than to wait around for others to do it? Especially when those others are involved in politics, which obscures their perspective and impedes their ability to be compassionate, open-minded, or far-sighted.

I hope we can all learn to nurture hope, to encourage each other to take positive action, to breed a sense of capability in ordinary people. Because life's too damn short to wait for the solution to come to us. I know that there's limitless joy to be experienced, I just need to pursue it with the same tenacity I habitually reserve for criticizing those in power.