Ok, I was just teasing you, there is no such thing, as an Optimistic Personality Disorder!
Please forgive my silliness. I don’t know that anyone can convincingly fake optimism. But when you have it, true optimism, and true hope, the world seems brand new, and really, really good. Many of us strive with hopelessness every day, all the time, and finding optimism in the face of utter hopelessness is an almost impossible task.
Sometimes I think people with children have more reason to feel hope than those of us without. They can look at their child growing, learning, being happy and excited, and remember that feeling for themselves. For the rest of us though, hope is hard-earned, and is never taken for granted.
Many children, teens, and adults in their young to mid-twenties are filled with hope. They believe the world is their oyster, and in fact, it is. Because this is the one time in their life where people encourage them to be the best they can be, because once they hit true adulthood, the responsibilities they owe for to the next generations takes precedence. It’s really interesting.
I’ve worked hard to get this glimmer of hope after years of not seeing it. My feelings of hope had been lost after hearing about constant tragedies and sorrow, where my heart broke on a semi-daily basis. Friends and family’s stories hurt me, strangers on tv’s stories hurt me, 9/11 hurt me, my own life hurt me, and suffering people I worked with hurt me. I don’t know how I got this feeling of hope back, but it feels great, finally. I wish the same clarity, hope and happiness for you too.
All best,
Rose
