Thankful Thursday | cynicism vs. hopefulness

Man…James Clear has been sharing so many quotes lately that are relevant to Thankful Thursday! He had another great one recently, which is a little long but so good (from Nick Cave, an Australian writer) 

“Cynicism is not a neutral position — and although it asks almost nothing of us, it is highly infectious and unbelievably destructive. In my view, it is the most common and easy of evils. I know this because much of my early life was spent holding the world and the people in it in contempt. It was a position both seductive and indulgent…

Unlike cynicism, hopefulness is hard-earned, makes demands upon us, and can often feel like the most indefensible and lonely place on Earth. Hopefulness is not a neutral position either. It is adversarial. It is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism. Each redemptive or loving act, as small as you like… keeps the devil down in the hole. It says the world and its inhabitants have value and are worth defending. It says the world is worth believing in. In time, we come to find that it is so.”

This reminds me a little of what I wrote back in 2022 about how a soft heart can make you more resilient, not less. Soft is strong.

And I like how this quote frames hopefulness as something with a backbone, with muscle; a defiant fight against the pull of cynicism.

This resonates with me because I often refer to gratefulness practices as something akin to exercising a muscle. We exercise our muscles of hopefulness, gratefulness, and optimism so that they are strong for the fight. 🙂 

This week, I am thankful:

that my minivan is coming in so handy

I helped Sonia get all moved to her college home, where she will spend the next two years with her roommates. And although we did load up a large U-Haul for her and her friends, we also stuffed my van full of boxes and bags. 

that she can still use all the furniture I painted for her

Over the years, I painted a whole bunch of free/secondhand furniture for her room, and her friends and I loaded it all up in the U-Haul and moved it into her new place. 

It makes my heart happy that the pieces I poured so many hours into are still serving her well.

But I am not gonna lie; that enormous free wooden Thomasville bookshelf that I got is a terrible beast to move. I am so very grateful she wanted it on the first floor of her home. Ha. 

Crouton the orange cat made the move with her, of course! 

I think he was having fun exploring all the interesting new surroundings. 🙂

 that I have some gym muscles

I have been doing gym workouts consistently for over a year now, and I was so grateful for that on moving day.

I moved lots of furniture by pairing up with one of her six-foot-tall friends, and I was holding my own pretty respectably. 🙂 

Full disclosure: I was definitely sore the next day. But I know it would have been way worse without my workouts! And I know I wouldn’t have been able to lift as much. 

that I actually don’t have to do chemistry and ethics this summer

As you know, I’m starting my online BSN program in the fall, and I was under the impression I had to knock out what is basically a CLEP credit for those two before classes started. 

But I learned this week that I can do them anytime before I finish my BSN. YAYYYY!

That means I can just focus on studying for my NCLEX, and I don’t have to try to quickly squeeze those credits in on top of my new nurse job, which starts in August. 

I am so very relieved. Whewwww. 

that I love my coworkers 

I’m working 12-hour shifts for 4/6 days (first one yesterday) and I was reminded again how much I love my coworkers. And how much my social self enjoys having co-workers. It’s a fun change from being a solo self-employed person for so long! 

for snuggle-bug cats

They both willingly choose to snuggle up on the regular. 🙂 

What are you thankful for this week?