Optimism Requires Engagement in Society
In her work, Optimism, Helen Keller discusses how she uses her optimism to transform the absence of good, “Thus my optimism is grounded in two worlds, myself and what is about me. I demand that the world be good, and lo, it obeys. I proclaim the world good, and facts range themselves to prove my proclamation overwhelmingly true. To what is good I open the doors of my being, and jealously shut them against what is bad. Such is the force of this beautiful and willful conviction, it carries itself in the face of all opposition. I am never discouraged by absence of good. I never can be argued into hopelessness. Doubt and mistrust are the mere panic of timid imagination, which the steadfast heart will conquer, and the large mind transcend.” Pp 12-13
NOTE: A true optimist doesn’t deny suffering or evil. The true optimist, like Helen Keller, has a firm belief that good will eventually triumph over evil, love will always win, and that hope fuels the ride into the future. An optimist is a transformative agent who seeks ways to remedy negative situations and turn them into positive outcomes. Being a true optimist requires hard work and involvement in life. Optimist you will transform our world. Never lose hope.