the optimist

optimism is extremely disarming.
instead of choosing to worry and to seek negativity,
the optimist's path is more noble.

he sees hope where others see only shadows
and finds beauty all around him,
especially where others see none.

i connected with him when we both admitted that there should be no guilty pleasures:
if you like unicorns, you should wear a shirt with a unicorn on it, and hang unicorn posters
on your wall, and apologize to no one.

he tells me that i am beautiful because of my scars, not despite them.
and admonished me gently for covering my mouth when i smiled
because he loves my crooked teeth.

he loves what others label "faults"
because those are the qualities that make us who we are;
therefore, we should embrace them.

i even saw the optimist laugh when i thought there would be no more humor in his world.
he danced while baking cupcakes in his kitchen, causing the room to fill with light
and my own sadness transformed into laughter.

he believes that the only moment we have is right now
so we might as well say "i love you" to the people we love
and stop being so afraid.

the optimist wants us to reach out from our loneliness because
there is nothing to lose
except our isolation.