Living in the COVID World ... and Beyond #86: Youthful Optimism

Many years ago, I was a teenager and then a college student who did not like the ways that things were.  I did not like how things were in my family, in my school, in my country or in the world.   And I became an activist.  I organized protests, participated in political campaigns, served on committees trying to make changes, and had a lot of conversations.   I was deemed to be too idealistic by some, like my dad.   I was irrepressibly optimistic about what was possible.  I took the label of idealist as a badge to be proud of, I did not think it was possible to be too idealistic.   I loved a line from a poem that I read in my teens that talked about “a dreamer whose dreams come true.”    That is what I aspired to be, someone who had big hopes and dreams and who worked to turn those dreams into reality.

I like this quote from Desmond Tutu that I only recently came across:

“Young people have the wonderful habit of questioning the status quo. They have no interest in things as they are. They want things as they ought to be.”

Tutu was describing me back then.  He was describing my friends too.   As young adults, we wanted things to be different and we were confident that we could make it so.

Despite many setbacks and defeats, I still claim the label of idealist.  I believe that things can change.  Actually, I believe that things will change, and it is just a matter of how soon.   I have stayed an optimist about what is possible

However, I have seen many others in my age cohort lose their sense of idealism.   They no longer have that youthful sense of possibility that we had back then.   I’m sad that they have lost track of their hope and optimism for the future.

One thing that has helped me to stay connected with my idealism is interacting and working with young people and young adults on social change projects.   For me, in a lot of the work that I do around climate issues, I’m the oldest person in the room.   I’m able to follow the leadership of teenagers and 20-somethings.   I can add some experience, and maybe wisdom, but I can also feel and join in the energy of believing that change is possible and that we just have to work for it.   Idealism seems to be contagious, and it is one bug that I’m glad to have caught and to keep catching.

What has helped you to be optimistic and idealistic during these difficult times?