The Daily Boost #392
Pessimism, optimism, hope
Consider these words from the writer Barbara Kingsolver:
The pessimist would say, “It’s going to be a terrible winter; we’re all going to die.” The optimist would say, “Oh, it’ll be all right; I don’t think it’ll be that bad.” The hopeful person would say, “Maybe someone will still be alive in February, so I’m going to put some potatoes in the root cellar just in case.” And that’s where I lodge myself on this spectrum. Hope is a mode of survival. I think hope is a mode of resistance. Hope is how parents get through the most difficult parts of their kids’ teenaged years. Hope is how a cancer patient endures painful treatments. Hope is how people on a picket line keep showing up. If you look at hope that way, it’s not a state of mind but something we actually do with our hearts and our hands, to navigate ourselves through the difficult passages.
On this day, where would you “lodge yourself on this spectrum” of pessimism, optimism, and hope?
(My thanks to Barbara Kingsolver, via Chicago Public Library.)
The Gentle Nudge
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Faith keeps me hopeful :)
Kingsolver’s latest book is a hard read, but the thread of hope appears and buries itself so realistically. Copperhead, the main character, exemplifies the hope she speaks of in this interview, without the giddiness of optimism yet the energy of going forward...two steps forward, then backwards! How she draws community into the picture supports her belief in our interdependence. Thanks for quoting this today.