I'm for Hope!

         I have a friend who recently sent out a mass email decrying the shape of “now and things to come”. Have to tell you, I find his attitude truly depressing.
 
“I am convinced that we are coasting along on borrowed time as the impact of the COVID pandemic continues to threaten the world. I feel that the true impact will be felt severely by year end. And by spring of ’21 with many small businesses & even the ‘big guys’ just hanging on, we are bound to see some devastation.”
 
         He goes on to list the various business he believes are faltering and even decries the fact that office supply companies can’t sell Post It Notes anymore (which is funny because I just bought a bunch two days ago).
         Now, I acknowledge that the world is facing serious challenges. And I’m surely not in favour of sticking my head in the sand. Indeed, I have serious respect for the power of the virus that is currently impacting the world: I practice social distancing, wash my hands regularly, wear a mask in public places. And I also have regard for the way in which various individuals choose to handle their response to the pandemic, some good, some less so. Yet, it seems to me you can take the attitude that we’re all going to hell in a handcart, or you can try to squeak out just a bit of sunshine from the day.
         It was Winston Churchill who said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
         From where I sit and view the world, trying to maintain a somewhat positive outlook beats giving in to despair: that’s just a one-way ticket to gloom and disheartenment.
         I’m hoping a vaccine will be here soon. That alone will change the way in which people have been forced to live their lives.
         Meanwhile, between hope and desperation, I’ll place my bets on hope.
         The way I see it anyway.

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