The Optimism of Happiness
“An optimist,” said Mark Twain, “is a person who travels on nothing from nowhere to happiness.” Starting from anywhere you are, with nothing but a hope in your pocket, you can peek over the horizon and guess that you’ll find happiness there. And guessing, expecting, hoping could be all you need to find it.
So much depends on expectations, on what you’re looking to find. Expect that you’ll find a way, and it’s likely that you will. Expect the best of yourself, and you’re likely to rise to the occasion. Expect opportunity and you’re likely to prepare. Optimism empowers; pessimism defeats. Optimism lifts; pessimism casts down.
Happiness chooses hope. It looks toward spring and morning. It wraps itself in faith and steps through the doorway. Starting right from nowhere, it spins itself into the future with confidence, filled with anticipation of new possibilities for expressing itself with joy. It builds nest. It keeps its tools sharpened, its windows polished and its shoes shined.
Happiness sees the seeds of hope in every failure and opportunity in every challenge. It looks for the silver lining and sees blessings regardless of the disguises they wear. In trust, it puts on its smile and gives itself to the moment with gusto. It looks for what it can achieve. And regardless of the turns the road may take, optimism has more fun along the way.
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