Nelson Mandela once said, “Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward.”
Optimism is perhaps one of the most difficult virtues to maintain. We are taught that it is the art of looking on the brighter side of things even in the bleakest situations. We are taught that it is the skill of seeking silver linings in the darkest of clouds. While it is easy to revel in the beauty of optimism when we theorise it, it can become quite difficult to practise in reality. This is because we often forget what optimism is truly about.
Optimism is not just about seeing the better side of things, for this can be done quite easily in most situations. Instead, optimism is about never giving up in the act of seeing the better side of things.
The world has taught us that happiness is a plentiful resource. It is abundant, but seemingly inaccessible to many.
Many of us swim through a sea of unhappiness and a general lack of optimism simply because we stop persevering in our pursuit of happiness. The core of optimism is the understanding that at least sometimes, there are situations where there is no silver lining or brighter side. The very nature of life is such that it is impossible for all of our experiences to be positive. However, the nature of life is also such that we will always have another day that is filled with new experiences. Opti-mism is simply the ability to never stop hoping for happiness regardless of the experiences we have in the present moment.
Every twelve hours, the world slows down to a gentle pace. Students and workers settle down to rest. Most notably, the sunlight slowly disappears as a result of the setting sun. Regardless of how hot or bright the day has been, the night is always dark. Although the night time can be dark and quiet, it is not an indication that the new day will also be dull or dark. Could you imagine how dismal our lives would be if everytime night came, we operated under the belief that we would never see daylight again? Can you imagine how unnecessarily frightening and stressful the period of darkness would be for us if we thought that it would last forever?
You see, when the sunshine seems to run out and wither into darkness, we ought only to wait patiently for the new day to arrive. We would then see that sunshine does not truly run out, it only withdraws for a while.
Looking for sunlight in the night would be foolish and tiring. Those who engage in such a task would soon find themselves exhausted and depressed. Similarly, optimism is not just about looking for the positives in every single situation, for this too can become tiring. Optimism, like our understanding of day and night, is the appreciation of the fact that happiness and positive moments never truly run out, but always return in their full splendour.
