Look Around You and See the Good

Have you ever watched The Office? Do you remember the character Dwight? The one who was annoying and always had a miserable attitude. Well, the actor playing that role is the complete opposite in real life. His name is Rainn Wilson, and he is a very wise person.

He recently appeared on an episode of the Rich Roll podcast, where they discussed about ideas included in his new book, Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution. Wilson writes about what he considers is one of the pillars of spirituality: Maintaining a positive outlook on the world and avoiding a pessimistic view. He thinks that if we have a negative mindset and think cynically, we will not be able to come up with solutions to improve our society. And he is right.

It is difficult to always stay positive when looking at some of the issues facing humankind. Or, to put it better, it's rather challenging if you focus on the negative aspects of life. For instance, if you consistently watch the news, you are training your mind to look out for negative things.

How are we supposed to come up with solutions? How are we supposed to find ways to improve our society if we think cynically and say things like, "Nah, everything is already going to hell, why bother?" or "What we have done as humans is irreversible, so let's just keep doing the same things." Or “Things were much better in the past, we are living in the worst times in history.”