FULL OF WORDS

 Do you make resolutions in January, pick a word of the year, or list aspirations? I've noticed that writers of blogs and personal essays find a word that resonates with them to use as a theme throughout the year. Like resolutions, these ideas often fade away as life presents other interesting ideas. I don't usually make resolutions or pick a theme word, but this year the word, time, keeps cropping up for me. This past year has been one of recognizing how short time can be. Our moves around the Bay Area have heightened the number of projects we have to do. We think, "It was just the first of January and suddenly it's a week later or a month later or...." We look around at what we have to do and remind ourselves one thing at a time.

 Like a year about ten years ago, several people I knew passed away. They had been people from my childhood or early adulthood but we hadn't stayed connected throughout our lives. Their deaths surprised me and left me with a sorrowful feeling. Though we knew each other briefly early in our lives, their passing means I have no way now to learn from them or to say goodbye.

Other words have popped up this year. I am curious about the difference between hope and optimism. Several writers offered essays favoring one over the other. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines hope as "to cherish a desire with the expectation of fulfillment; to want something to happen or be true." Optimism is defined as "an inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome." A slight, but important, difference between the two.

Of the two words, I favor optimism because to me it implies an understanding of past events and with the knowledge gained, to look to the future with a willingness to weather challenges that will always come our way. I look back to fictional characters who I admired: Jane Eyre, Mary Poppins, Anne of Green Gables, and others who exhibited the traits that I value and hope I have acquired. The last couple of weeks I've often thought of former President Jimmy Carter, who showed us that optimism and hope go hand in hand. His work to build better lives for people, to end diseases that threaten us, and his work for peace reminds us that with his positive attitude and self-confidence, he could accomplish much in the time he had.