Why Hope is Brave

Day 9 of Project 21 Days of Hope

Source : Pikist

A very dear friend of mine recently said that he likes to maintain an optimistic outlook and always chooses hope, mostly because it puts the onus of responsibility and action on him.

This friend of mine is a cancer survivor and knows a thing or two about struggles and hope.

Coming from someone like him, it was an interesting take given how the prevalent culture around us seems to treat abject nihilism as something laudable and rewards pessimism with validation.

To be honest, being a pessimist is the easy way out. There is nothing easier than to deem a situation hopeless and use it as an excuse to do nothing about it.

It is true that we are often faced with mounting odds and situations where we may feel legitimately helpless. There are even situations, like the one we are currently facing, where we can actually do nothing much to resolve the larger odds.

None of that, however, is a reason to become a pessimist. To use hopelessness as an excuse to bury your head in the proverbial sand and not take the responsibility of actually doing something is fatalist and lazy.

Irrespective of how small a speck you may be in the Universe, you can always do something.

You don’t need to set out to change the world. Sometimes, simply surviving it is enough.

You don’t need to become a roaring success. Sometimes, being able to find happiness irrespective of our circumstances, is enough.

You don’t need to help the multitudes. Sometimes, helping the one person you can, is enough.

Every little good, every tiny bit of hope and happiness you add to the world around you counts in its own way.

As the old adage goes, you cannot change the world. But you can always change someone’s world.

With hope, you will be surprised how often that someone is you.

Until next time

Keep choosing hope!