Walking Cheerfully

My writing has taken a decidedly gloomy and cynical turn, and I need to find a place of hope. George Fox famously said,

"I saw ... that there was an ocean of darkness and death, but an infinite ocean of light and love which flowed over the ocean of darkness."

I am easily overwhelmed by the very bleak news which, somewhat perversely, I seek out every day. I am trying to tap into some hope, in the midst of a strangely warm winter, the pending escalation of the war in Iraq, petty micro-managing being done by the mucky-mucks in my school district ... it's happening at all levels; you name it, I feel some despair over it.

I tell myself that there must have been times when my parents -- passionate liberals -- saw a similar ocean of darkness. They saw McCarthyism, the sickness of the Jim Crow south, the threat of nuclear war, VietNam, &tc. and managed to raise 6 kids who all do something to make the world a better place. They "carried on crisply" as my dad would say.

Early Quakers suffered through horrendous religious persecution, and yet retained an essentially optimistic outlook. On Sunday I checked out a little book of essays from my Meeting library: Walk Cheerfully, Friends by birthright Friend Seth Bennet Hinshaw. I'm trying out optimism. You'll know how it's going when you read my next few posts.