I wrote this five years ago during the height of Covid. I think it’s quite relevant for now:
I think we need a new profession in these trying times –
Optimalogist
This is a person who is able to maintain and help others to experience hopefulness for the future and to find ways to discover little miracles and blessings during the day, in spite of all the negativity, strife, and very real-world problems for so many people. Not fostering a Pollyanna outlook, but as Pir Vilayat, my Sufi teacher for 25 years, liked to say, seeing that which transpires behind that which appears.
We are each capable of being Optimalogists, which the world is sorely in need of.