May 28, 2025
I don’t know whether a dictionary would agree with me, but I attach a significant difference to the words “hope” and “optimism.”
I feel optimistic when I sense that things are going well, that good things will happen, that bad things will fade away. Optimistic me usually, but not always, has good reason for the feeling. I might be buoyed up by successes or following others’ good work. I don’t choose what I call optimism; I feel it.
I also enjoy it when it happens.
In contrast, I describe hope as a choice which doesn’t depend on what I feel. When I hope, I look toward a future that looks better than the present, whether I feel that it’s likely or not. When I choose hope, I choose to live toward what is good rather than following what might be an easier path toward what is bad.
It’s certainly easier to hope when I feel optimistic. Hope springs almost naturally from a feeling that things are going well. Hope becomes a virtue when optimism fades. Why would I work toward something that cannot, or at least will not, be?
Enjoy your optimism. The world gives us plenty of reason to celebrate, from the tiny grins of infants to the proud smiles of graduates to the tender embraces of tutu. All these things tell us that the future will be better than the present.
When things say otherwise, that’s the time to hope. The future can be better. The world can be brighter. The people can live in love and peace, though all the powers and principalities seek to bar the way. Hope when it’s easy; hope when it’s hard.
That’s how better days dawn.
In peace,
Pastor Eric
PS: I’ve appended the sabbatical video once again. I hope you enjoy it!
