Forgive me for my optimism

 

Towards the end of 2008 Fr Michael was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Even for someone who has spent the best part of his life reflecting on the human condition, Fr Michael still struggles to make sense of his illness. In a series of articles he reflects theologically on what it means to be ill.

 

How is it possible to remain upbeat and optimistic when it is clear to everyone else that your life holds no promise?

 

One answer to this question is offered by the science of Evolutionary Psychology. I have to confess that I had not heard of this discipline until I chatted to a member of the congregation in one of my former churches. Evolutionary Psychology was the subject of her doctoral thesis. It is not surprising, therefore, that she was an enthusiast.

 

Her Big Idea was that evolution has equipped us to be optimists. Just as the evolutionary process has given us large brains, strong muscles and keen eyes in order to survive in a competitive world, so evolution has favoured those with an optimistic outlook.

 

If we were all coldly rational about our prospects in the world, we would agree with the philosopher Thomas Hobbes who declared that human life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short." If we truly believed that, we would probably all behave like lemmings and cast ourselves in droves over the nearest precipitous cliff. End of Homo Sapiens.

 

Instead, as a survival strategy, evolution has equipped us to spread a rosy glow over the tribulations of normal life. We pay more attention to good fortune than to bad luck. We cling onto the signs of hope while dismissing the fears of catastrophe. We are psychologically more inclined to see a glass as half full than half empty.

 

Of course, in any generation, an individual can buck the evolutionary trend. Everyone's life is a mixture of success and failure, hope and despair, generosity and bitterness. No matter how fortunate an individual may be in life, it is always possible to dismiss the blessings and inflate the problems.

 

Some people are unfortunate in the hand that life deals them. It is the lot of some people to suffer more than others. Nevertheless, I still believe that it is possible to choose to face life optimistically rather than pessimistically.

 

Speaking personally, it may be that I have been the lucky beneficiary of an evolutionary process. Perhaps I am simply fortunate to ride the crest of the evolutionary wave that favours an optimistic outlook over pessimism as a survival strategy.

 

But, for me, there is also a religious reasons for optimism – despite the severity of my physical decline and the limited nature of my prospects. I find cause for optimism in the Christian hope that stands at the heart of my life. Despite the pessimism that (I know) ought to result from suffering from motor neurone disease, I prefer an optimistic outlook built upon the love of God. When that is real, it puts all my troubles in a different context.

 

Perhaps, my outlook results from evolution; I am simply lucky to be an exceptionally-advanced ape. Actually, I am more inclined to believe that my optimism derives from the Christian hope. Whatever the reason, I find my outlook to be optimistic rather than pessimistic – and that makes all the difference.