Day 74: Reform Your World

“The optimist is a better reformer then the pessimist; and the man who believes life to be excellent is the man who alters it the most.”  G.K. Chesterton, "Charles Dickens," page 4.

Chesterton is talking about the time that Dickens lived in during his life.  I really liked the quote because it rings true in today’s world as well. 

A pessimist is too busy complaining about the world that he/she doesn’t do anything about it.  They have no hope and no creative thinking to begin to make any reform in their life let alone the world.  The pessimist, with his/her bad attitude, also brings down those around them.  These are the people that drain others of their emotions.  They are toxic to be around.

An optimist sees the good in the world, and they hope to help change it for the better.  They are positive to be around and will lift the spirit of others.  They alter the world, even if it is just the world around them.  You know the type.  We gravitate towards optimists.  While talking with them, we feel inspired to be positive too.  They give us hope.

I know I have been pessimistic at times in my life.  However, I work hard to be optimistic.  I look at the good in the world.  I have hope for the future.  I doubt I will ever be a reformer.  I am not that personality type.  However, I try to alter the world around me.  I see the beauty in nature and in my little city, state, and country.  When I travel, I fall in love with all that is around me.  While some may complain about the attitude of the Parisians, I found them delightful. 

And thinking about it further, I do work at reform.  I work to reform my attitude when it gets negative.  Yesterday, I found out my mouth was inflamed due to the new medicine I am taking along with all the others.  I had been in a great amount of pain the past three to four days that became steadily worse.  I tried to reform my attitude through humor and ignoring the pain.  I didn’t succeed yesterday.  The continuous pain just added up to be out of control.  But today, I think I will have the strength to do better.  I have hope.  The doctor gave me a medicated mouthwash that should help.  Here's to hoping!  I also work at reform in my own home.  During the worse of our times with mental illness, I reformed the way I parent.  I changed the world around us.  I faltered in hope, but I never lost it completely.

In the end, we don’t have to be reformers of the big picture.  We do need to be reformers of the world around us.  To do this effectively, we must be positive, optimistic, and see all the good in the world.  Maybe this New Year, we can all approach life in this way.  Can you even imagine how the world would change with all the reform?  It would truly be amazing.