"The common connection between joy and optimism for me is people and relationships."
Robert wrote, "Research shows that the quality of our relationships is a key determinant of happiness and joy. For me being with friends and family and spending real “quality time” with them fulfils one of my deepest needs and sparks pure joy in me. I hope the photo of my wife Pamela, me, and our dear friends Liz and Bryan demonstrates that. You will see that while we are all moving towards wisdom and maturity, we are still light of heart and enjoy the simple things in life, like a walk in winter on a frozen lake!
"Turning to optimism, what makes me optimistic is the propensity of people to care for each other, share with each other and laugh with each other. The second photo was taken on a hiking holiday in Austria with friends, most of whom we have known for many years. As you can see, the group encompasses a wide variety of ages and some of us have medical conditions that make hiking strenuous. But we all supported each other to get to the summit of our hike and spent many happy evenings celebrating by a roaring fire, with a nice home-cooked meal and glass of wine or two, singing Frank Sinatra songs. As long as people truly care for each other, we should always be optimistic about the future!
"It certainly also came home to me thinking about this question that with age comes wisdom, and wisdom helps us focus on joy and being more optimistic."
The year of Joy starts today and, to my delight, opens with the Superpower of Optimism.