This past year has been a prime example for the history books…each time we feel that we are getting our feet on solid ground, and things are stabilizing, something or someone seems to pull the rug out from underneath us, which sends us back to the drawing boards. With all the tragedies that go on in the world, with 9/11, there was not any rulebook, signpost, or tools to go to, to understand how we were to react, and go on….but go on we must.

So what is an optimistic pessimist? For me, it is someone who is aware of the dangers that the future can bring, but hopeful that they can be avoided. Many, I believe, over the past year, have fallen under this term. We want to believe that the worst is behind us, yet, we fear the unknown. What I’ve discovered is that buried deep in the debris is a learning process that must take hold, so that the actions of 9/11 are not to be repeated. If the process is ignored, the outcome is inevitable.

In World War 1 and 11, opposing armies faced each other and hurled multiple weapons back and forth. Sadly, now all it takes is one bomb launched from some terrain in the mist to start a chain reaction where intelligence flys out the window. The optimistic pessimist says, “Hopefully, this process can be avoided, if the vision of the future has clarity.” Somewhere inside I can’t help but shake the feeling that there is something very very important that we are to learn from these times. Could it be that through all of our inventions, we have reached the point of understanding that some creations produce miracles, while others can destroy life as we know it. Technology that is held in the hands of the open heart, will understand the responsibility. The same tools held in the hands of the closed fist, will feel no remorse. The same rules cannot be applied to both, because each pursues a different outcome.

So the optimistic pessimist journeys on….not in denial, and remaining hopeful. Seeing what can be….and praying that it is avoided. This world can become Heaven, or it could become Hell…..we all have a say in which way the wind blows…..

may wise winds prevail,
love, Jennifer Avalon
© 2002 Jennifer Avalon