Daily Meditation: Sunday, April 27, 2014

Optimism and pessimism - the causes and consequences of these two philosophies of life

04/27/2014

Optimism and pessimism should not be thought of as a simple question of temperament – they imply two philosophies of life. Only someone who is seeking spiritual acquisitions can be truly optimistic, whereas someone who focuses on material possessions, even if they are full of hope at first, will be forced some day to abandon their illusions. Pessimists see no further than the trivial things on earth. Optimists, on the other hand, open their soul to the vast expanses of heaven, because they know humans are predestined to return one day to their heavenly homeland. On the way to this homeland, they will of course meet with evil in all its forms, they will suffer, and they will doubt others and themselves and become discouraged. But even in the worst moments they will not collapse, because they carry a truth in their heart and soul: the truth that God created them in his image, and that the image of God contains the potential for all riches and all victories. If there is one thing we must never doubt, it is that one day we will return to our heavenly homeland, whereas, in anything we undertake on earth, success is much more uncertain and is in any case short-lived. When students have failed an exam several times, they are made to understand it is pointless to keep on trying and they must give up. But when it is a question of our divine predestination, this predestination is etched in us so deeply that, one day, if we keep on working, we will achieve our goal. And that is true optimism.