Chris Pearlberg

Sometimes, we can feel sad. It feels like nothing lines up, the world is constantly throwing up barriers in the way of accomplishing our goals. With the 24 hour news cycle, we hear of bad things happening more often than ever before. Good things usually don’t make good news, they aren’t very shocking. But that’s an interesting thought- if bad things are still “shocking”, wouldn’t that mean that good things are the norm, and are what are expected?

Telling yourself to be happy is never enough to fix it. Someone can lay out all the things you should feel grateful for and it still feels like you should be 5 years ahead of where you are, or that you missed out because of something out of your control. Just because you tell yourself something does not mean you actually absorb the information, or even believe what you are saying.

Pessimism is an easy road to go down. The more we associate with it, the more it seems like everything is awful. Every step we take forward is met by being pulled back into the abyss. Things are so interconnected that purity seems an impossible feat.

Optimism, on the other hand, is the only tool to forge ahead with. What are the chances you have ended up where you are right now? How many others get this chance? When will you get to do this over again? The reason why we build buildings and store our food in refrigerators is because the world, in its natural state, is a harsh place. Human beings are not designed to live in the freezing cold or extremely hot, yet we have made civilizations in these places, and have surpassed the basic need of survival. At its core, life is suffering.

Harsh not only in its natural state, the world can equally be as unforgiving in society. Who am I to do x? What if I fail? What if I don’t like it? What if I don’t fit in? All of these are problems we all face, to one degree or another.

If it was all bad, there is no way the world would be where it is right now. What is normal now was impossible just a generation ago. Yes, its not perfect, but thats the point. The meaning is in making it better.