Welp, it's another hard week in the world. I was looking through highlights of books I've read (I use Readwise to do this, which I find incredibly helpful) and came across this note from Pooja Lakshmin's Real Self Care:
Social scientist Arthur C. Brooks writes that hope means “believing you can make things better without distorting reality.” [1] Researchers have found that while optimism is the sense that everything will be okay, people who are hopeful have the understanding that things may not be okay, but that they have agency to make things a little better for themselves or for others.[2]
I can't say I feel particularly optimistic right now, but I do like the idea of being hopeful. In fact, watching the birding documentary in the recommendations below is one of the things that's helping me feel hopeful. That, plus the daffodils that are starting to peek through the soil here in Virginia.
Even if you aren't sure how to make things better right now, noticing how others are making things better goes a pretty long way, I'd say.
Take care,
Camille
p.s. Watch the birding documentary.
