Review of the Week: So Many Things to be Optimistic About

You may have noticed, over the weeks, that I am not really an optimist. Don’t misunderstand: I’m not a pessimist either. I just try really hard to see things as they are and deal with them as they occur.

I am never depressed, and seldom particularly elated. I wake up each morning feeling cheerful, and cheerfulness is something that comes easily to me. Over the years things have happened to me which have not been conducive to cheerfulness, but my relentless energy, enthusiasm and, dammit, cheerfulness have been a mainstay in how I have been able to live.

But this week I am actually feeling optimistic. The new agreement in Northern Ireland give real reason for hope and optimism. It is delightful that people who were for decades at each others’ throats can come together and work so hard to make it right.

Add to that the conversation I had today with a young South African remembering back to the dreadful days of apartheid, and looking at how the will to make it right, the use of reconciliation to support the new regime, saw the birth of a new, developing nation with equality at its foundation, and it doesn’t seem so daft to be optimistic for the future of the human race.

And, the year has turned. Suddenly it is light later, and there is more sun. I have never suffered from SAD (seasonal affective disorder) but I do love to be in the sunshine, even when it’s freezing cold. It’s stopped raining, I can go for walks without getting filthy, and it will be spring soon. I might even be able to get the bicycle out and enjoy the exercise.

So, sorry, this week I am feeling optimistic. The Music Hall Show scheduled for the end of February is going well; we are all learning our words, getting the dancing right, and the melodrama is really dreadful, as it should be. The magician has agreed to appear and we are all having a great time preparing. This week I have to get the costumes finished, print the tickets and do the programmes. And the school I am Chair of Governors for is being visited by Ofsted. That should stop the optimism, shouldn’t it? Well, it hasn’t, so there!

Have a great week.

Dianna Moylan (Editorial Team)

Tags: cheerfulness, Northern Ireland, optimism