| OCTOBER 2008 -- As we approach the Autumn season we bid goodbye to the summer and welcome in the crisp days of fall. Let’s explore optimism as the foundation of life. Optimism is the creation’s natural disposition, the very spirit of Advent. “God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” (Gen: 1:31).
So optimism is not just one choice among many but a necessary attitude of a creation bent on fulfilling its destiny. It is not a momentary inspiration, it is the heart of genesis, the way of Life. It is what brings new life out of its nests and burrows to greet a new world. It is also what flowers the desert after a rain. It moves the heart of anyone who loves something. With the young, it challenges danger. With the elderly, it peers expectantly into the heart of eternity. With true optimism you are into life for the long haul.
This does not mean that we go through life never questioning anything, and never doubting a course of action. Optimism is not agreement about everything. But in its depth, optimism reaches through specific plans, goals, events, and happenings to the positive thread running through all life. Where there is an impasse, it rejoices in a yet unseen solution. If there is failure, it is more interested in what the failure teaches about success than who’s at fault. Optimism wades through human conditions, fears and unhappiness and finds underneath that spring of Being, the presence in us that nourishes all.
October brings us State Session and I look forward to seeing all of you there. Stop by and say Hi. |
