Idealists are people who believe in
the potential of human nature for transformation....
The most essential attribute of human nature
is its mutability and freedom from instinct...
it is always within our power to change our nature.
So it is actually the idealists who are on the mark
and the realists who are off base.
M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie
As far as we can discern,
the sole purpose of human existence
is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being.
Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Suppose that what you fear
could be trapped,
and held in Paris.
Then you would have
the courage to go
everywhere in the world.
All the directions of the compass
open to you,
except the degrees east or west
of true north
that lead to Paris.
Still, you wouldn’t dare
put your toes
smack dab on the city limit line.
You’re not really willing
to stand on a mountainside
miles away
and watch the Paris lights
come up at night.
Just to be on the safe side
you decide to stay completely
out of France.
But then danger
seems too close
even to those boundaries,
and you feel
the timid part of you
covering the whole globe again.
You need the kind of friend
who learns your secret and says,
"See Paris first."
M. Truman Cooper
You know what the happiest animal on Earth is?
It's a goldfish.
Y'know why?
It's got a 10-second memory.
Be a goldfish.
Ted Lasso, Season 1, Episode 2
The key to the future of the world,
is finding the optimistic stories
and letting them be known.
Pete Seeger, Songwriter and Champion of Folk Music, Dies at 94,
The New York Times, 28 January 2014