Why I'm Optimistic For the future

Bob Dylan once sang, "the times they are a-changin'."  And it's a good thing.

There is so much opportunity for positive things to come out of these times.  It'll take everyone to make sure progress happens, and I think we will be stronger from it.

But so many people struggle to keep engaged.  There are social media and news, telling us we need to be afraid of each other because of coronavirus, rioters, and other threats.  It can be overwhelming to keep up with everything, to show up in your life each day because of the pace of change, and scale of anxiety.

Make no mistake.  The human condition is one of change, progress, and struggle.

Sometimes it feels like we are currently living in all three of these factors.

There have been times when I have lived in all three.  See, when I was five my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  It was a scary time seeing her go through treatment, and the toll it took on her.  It was also stressful because the insurance didn't cover my mother's medical costs, so our family spent most of my childhood paying back the doctor.  Thankfully my Mom survived and was cancer-free for the rest of her life.

There was tons of struggle during that time.  There was also an opportunity for my brother and me to get more resilient, learn basic life skills, and see our parents as folks doing the best with their situation.  No matter how hard things got, we found a way forward.

I feel the same now.  We can figure ourselves out of this world we've inherited and made for ourselves. 

 Enough people are activated, and taking peaceful action.