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October 2009 
Optimism Isn't Easy
1Vector3
Optimism Isn't Easy
So it's easy to see there's currently a wave of euphoria, optimism, hope, benevolence, enthusiasm in the world. The faces we saw in Chicago the night of November 4th, those were not just "Our team won." Those were new faces of optimism and hope, and a personal committment to Yes WE can! Those folks who are older might say "Been there, seen that. How long will it last?"
Here's the deeper question: Why doesn't it seem to last?
One psychobiological researcher (Lionel Tiger, Optimism: The Biology of Hope) claims humans by nature are naturally more optimistic than pessimistic; they tend to underestimate dangers and overestimate potential success. (Of course, we all know exceptions to this!)
So why might we expect optimism and enthusiasm to fade? I'd like to ponder this question with you, and examine some things to consider. I plan to raise more questions than I answer.
Is it the hard work that follows? There is an unusual amount of realization, in the current wave, that "the work is just beginning, and the work is not someone else's to do, it's mine." Is it social pressures to go back to the old ways of thinking and acting? Those certainly abound. Is it not being willing to be unpopular, to perhaps lose some friends? Is it resistance to change, fear of the new and unknown?
Is it fear of failure, or fear of success? Are we afraid to try and be disappointed with the results? Is it because we can rarely agree on goals and methods? Is it because we believe it's dangerous to expect good, that our alertness to danger will be clouded by our optimism? Do we feel unsafe to feel safe? Will success set us up for failure because we won't be on our guard enough?
Are we afraid to stay optimismtic because then we won't have any excuses for not reaching our goals? Are we afraid we'll reach our goals and they won't be what we wanted, and then we'll not know what to do next, and have to start all over?
Are we just used to our pessimism? Certainly the current world situation comes crashing in many times a day, with news that's a downer. And our personal lives, lots of downers there. Is optimism unrealistic? What does it mean, the saying that "If at first you don't succeed, failure might be more your style."
It's scary to entertain new possibilities that did not seem possible before. So many "What if's?" in the way....
There's optimism about stuff "out there," and there's the hard reality of assuming some responsibility for that, "in here." There's an uneasy balancing act, always between working as an individual and working as a team or group; we don't always know how to work together, especially with folks different from us. "Yes I can" doesn't easily morph into "Yes We Can." How shall we learn to combine those synergistically? Who can teach us that?
Optimism. What is it? Not the "Pollyanna" denial of anything except one's desired outcomes. Nothing fades faster than optimism that denies what is. Not superficial looking, either. Nothing fades faster than optimism which doesn't look deeply into causes.
Fear comes up. About what?
Does it take more effort to be optimistic than pessimistic?
What are the advantages of optimism? Helps you persevere. Helps you be creative in your efforts. Helps you be willing to expand. What are some other advantages?
What are the disadvantages to optimism? Can blind you to current reality. Can switch to discouragement really fast if expectations exist and are not met. What are some other disadvantages?
What did we have before this wave of optimism? Apathy. Hopelessness. Withdrawal. Pessimism. Cynicism. Skepticism. What's different now?
Optimism ABOUT WHAT?
The Bigger Picture as I see it: The world is more conducive now. Something in the energy of the planet has shifted, and our optimism is not just a response to events; the events are a response to the energy shift. Now the wind is at our backs. Now we can get supported when we're down. Now we can learn.
Who we are has shifted. The context in which we view our lives has shifted. What is REAL to us, has shifted. That's the process and foundation of transformation. That's how new realities are created and co-created.
Why these shifts? How these shifts? That's less important than the fact that I am optimistic about OUR optimism.
Bottom line: The optimism will last to the extent that we are WILLING for things to be different. For ourselves to be different. Don't underestimate how challenging it is to be truly WILLING for things, and us, to be different !!!
It's the willingness that opens new possibilities. Their actualization is a downstream. It flows, when there is true willingness.
What do you think?
Access: Public
When in the spirit, optimism is easy but when out of the spirit, it can seem daunting!
The mainstream media makes it not easy to be optimistic, so getting on the side of the alternative media helps!
With the shift that has happened and is still happening, I would be more optimistic about optimism being easier!
Blessings Rev O.M.,
Mila
An optomist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds,
A pessimist fears this is true.
Thanks for that gem of classical folk wisdom, Andrew. It's not strictly what I am meaning by optimism and pessimism, which are not about right now, but about the future. However, the saying itself is definitely worth contemplating at length, because it does contain valuable insights about people and about attitudes, and the implications of these attitudes for our lives.
Mila, yes, that's perfect: I too am more optimistic about optimism being easier now!! I am glad you are, too !!
But I woke up this morning thinking about your other point, about media, and what makes maintaining optimism easier or more difficult.
That's related to what I meant by the “challenge of being willing,” and I see now I could elaborate more about what that means to me.
We can say we want change, we passionately desire change, we NEED change, we are dedicated to change. But if we believe things are as the media portrays, deep down inside, we assess the probability of successful change as almost nil. One person expressed it as: changing the world in the direction we want is like trying to turn the Titanic on its course. It takes a lot to change the course of the world. None of us even knows “how to.”
To me this relates to willingness. If I stay in true willingness, then the data and the difficulty and my not knowing HOW the change will take place, these all take a back seat in my consciousness. I don't say “Gee, things are so bad, and still going in the wrong direction, and I have no idea HOW this is all going to change, so I'm getting discouraged.” That is, I become less WILLING !!!
The word “faith” might be springing to the reader's mind right now, and it wouldn't be far from what I mean. But, not “blind” faith. There are some “data” as grounds for this faith. To some of us, the energetic shift is “data.” To those who pay attention to such things as alternative media, there is a lot of data about new ways of conducting societal activities, institutions, new ways that are groundswelling into a wave of being manifested and implemented. Even our own tenacity of willingness, is data. What we saw on those faces in Chicago, is data.
There is plenty of data to support optimism, I am saying, but you kinda have to go looking for it. The 6 O'clock News is not where it is !! I passionately encourage people to feed their optimism with all the data they can scrounge up in their lives. Look for, find, and pay attention to encouraging data, not discouraging data. They're both available. Which is more important to your eventual success?
[Am I advocating denying the existence of discouraging data? I am not. I am saying it needs less attention, and less emotional energy, and can be regarded as hangovers of the past, not phases of the future. That way of regarding it makes it “less real,” and what we regard as real is what we are in the groundswell of. What we bemoan, and fear, and rant about, we are giving emotional energy, attention, and reality to. I regard that as counterproductive to co-creating what we want.]
As most of the “success” self-improvement books say, optimism which leads to success does not falter in the face of probabilities, and does not falter in the face of not knowing “how” success can be achieved. The optimism which leads to success just keeps putting one foot in front of the other, and its dogged, unrelenting, unflagging, tenaciously-held WILLINGNESS to have the future be different from the present sparks creativity, creates “luck,” and in the end, that optimism becomes knowing, becomes the new “data” of how things ARE NOW.
Well, you said it in capsule summary form, Mila, when you talked of the media, and when you said
When in the spirit, optimism is easy but when out of the spirit, it can seem daunting!
Being wordy as I am, I wanted to unpack, unfold it. I was using ordinary language, above and in this comment, but I really was saying that Spiritual energy or perspective is a “secret ingredient” or “secret fuel” for maintaining optimism.
Thank you both for so wonderfully contributing to this discussion. You're MY data that I hug to me !!
Blessings, OM
The universal is birthed by the personal and WE is just ME doing a headstand where my heart is now higher then my head.
optimism is a beautiful thing and i feel like a wave of it has come over our country… people walk with a new bounce in their step and it's wonderful. i'm excited to see what lies ahead
Jewels, Doug, thanks for those. It IS kinda challenging to have a WE without ME, isn't it ! What is the alchemy that could turn a collection of ME's for example riding on a bus, into a WE? Will doing headstands be sufficient? (It sure might help, and look and feel interesting, LOL !!!)
Bren, you're there, onsite, Chicago, thanks for sharing your data !!! Were you there in the park? How was it? I too am excited to see what lies ahead !! What will you be doing as we move forward ? Do you know yet?
Blessings, OM Bastet
I appreciate this blog, OM.
As I was taught by my Sensei, “any intention is contrary to ease.” And “practice a thousand times and it becomes difficult, practice a thousand thousand and it becomes easy.”
I think the key is repetition - using discipline to liberate one into the habit of optimism. I think many of us, myself included, are unused to applying this kind of consistent effort over time. Our society has created a “give it to me now, effortlessly” mentality in many. I think it is natural to want to go with ease.
Having the strength to persevere is where the grace comes in…I like your use of the word “faith.”
Thanks for the food for thought.
Love you,
M
nice pic, btw
the tickets were sold out, but when people were coming out i was able to sneak in and just seeing all the people and stage and everything it was amazing!
Sneaking in took optimism !! And courage !!
LOL !!!
OM
thanks for stopping by, Michele !! Glad you liked the picture. I looked for one that might convey the challenge of optimism !!
I am a trifle confused about the two things you quoted. Doesn't practice imply or require intention?
I do see intention as different from “flow,” in some ways. But I think intentions can also flow, from Divine Will, and that would be in perfect ease. I guess with pithy sayings from teachers, it isn't always clear exactly what they are talking about.
Wow, I love that turn of phrase “liberate one into habit.” We usually think of our habits as constraints, but now you have helped me see how they liberate us, too. Their automaticness is freeing, from one way of looking at it. Cool !!!
Yes, I think that discipline, perseverance, repetition, practice, strength, and consistent effort have a lot to contribute to the maintenance of optimism !!
And yeah, most people couldn't even imagine practicing something a thousand times, let alone a thousand thousand times, LOL !!!!!!!!
Hugs, OM
Just ran across this blog which lists some specific steps to staying “up” in “down” times. http://krystagibson.com/blog/?p=76
I am going to write a sequel to my/this blog entry, with other suggestions, too. As soon as I get a round tuit, haha.
OM