Optimism and Hope

      Huston Smith "recalled Czech president Vaclav Havel saying that ‘optimism’ suggests that we think things will turn out well, while ‘hope’ is a force that motivates us toward right action whether we believe things will turn out well or not. 
     And it was out of hope that Huston found motivation to keep working for change. We must, Huston argued, be like the doctors who fight to end disease whether or not they believe they will ever succeed. 
     ‘The fulfillment comes through doing what one can, not in wasting time predicting outcomes.’”

        Dana Sawyer “Huston Smith: Wisdomkeeper. Living the World’s Religions. The Authorized Biography of a 21st Century Spiritual Giant.” Fons Vitae, Louisville, KY, 2014.