Derived from the Latin word "optimum" -- which is really just a fancy way of saying "best" -- the meaning of the word "optimism" usually falls in line with terms like hope, confidence, cheerfulness, sanguineness and positiveness. That being said, an optimist is someone who tends to expect the best possible outcome because of their inherent belief that good will always triumph over evil. My favorite explanation of an optimist comes from singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, "I am confident that, in the end, common sense and justice will prevail. I'm an optimist, brought up on the belief if you wait to the end of the story, you get to see the good people live happily ever after."
Some will call us innocent, naive, or even ignorant and all of those may be true, but there is one thing about us that is for certain and that is we are happy. Some people find us bothersome and try to insult us with silly questions like "why are you always so happy?" and "can you stop being so happy?" but we don't mind. It's pretty hard to ruin our day. Some will wonder if we're ever down and the answer is yes. We are human and we get sad, but we don't let it stop us. It's okay to be sad, it's okay to be angry, but it isn't in our nature to be that way for long and it certainly isn't in our nature to think things didn't work out for the best even if they didn't work out the way we had planned them.
The optimist is inherently good and believes that everyone else has good in them, too. Sometimes it gets us in trouble, but we always give people the benefit of the doubt because we truly believe that they deserve it. Obstacles won't stop us because we know they're there for a reason. We'll dodge and hurdle them, but we'll always admire the part they played in our journey. We travel in packs because negativity is simply something we don't deal with, but we'll never turn away from or give up on our pessimist and realist friends. We know you serve a purpose in this world that is just as great as ours and we sure like the challenge you present us. You make us stronger in our beliefs just as much as I am sure we do yours.
It might seem too good to be true, but is it really so hard to believe that eternal sunshine is possible for those who create it? Optimists train themselves to see the best in every situation, to always believe in the best possible outcome and I'd like to think that our willing of good truly does create a better world. Never stop being you, all of you sunshiney optimists out there. You make the world go 'round.
