MY HOPE FOR THE NEW YEAR

I am not, by nature, optimistic. But I am not entirely pessimistic, either.

You know the old “glass half empty/glass half full” thing? It’s usually understood to mean that if you see the glass as half full, you are an optimist, and if you see it as half empty, you are a pessimist.

I don’t think this is as clear-cut as it appears: if my glass of water is half-empty, and I recognize it as being half-empty, well, that implies that I want to refill it.

And if I want to refill it, that implies that I believe it can be refilled.

It is not pessimistic to want more of something good.

So without further abstract bullshit, here is my hope for the new year:

I hope that you – if you haven’t already – figure out that people that are different than you are not a threat to you just because they are different.

They are just people.

Other than a few superficial details, they are exactly like you.

I hope that you – if you haven’t already – realize this.

This is my hope for the new year.

Am I optimistic about this hope? Well, the way I look at it, if tolerance and empathy for other humans could be described using the “glass half empty/glass half full” metaphor, the glass is half-empty.

Which means, I believe it can be refilled.

Will you help refill it?

I hope so. 🙂

Thank you for reading.

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