Stick It to the Man - Optimism as a Form of Resistance

This morning, I watched the sun rise over the Washington Navy Yard and the Anacostia River. I've not experienced this view hundreds of times, and today proved again that this experience is unique and always worth getting up in time to observe.

Sunrise Over the Anacostia

A little bit later in the day, but before noon, my longest running roommate notified me that we'd received an eviction notice. Now, in a way of explanation, I've always paid my bills on time, we've not had any complaints about our behavior, we've generally treated the house as our own, and I'd like to think we've been pretty good tenants. 

I believe this forty five day eviction notice hinges upon the desires of our landlords to replace our tenancy with the tenancy of some folks that are higher on their priority list. I've looked at the documentation, and although they've made some mistakes, I suspect that at the end of the day these folks have to power to impose their will.

This reality as a bit disappointing to say the least, and I'm struggling to understand just how this situation is going to work out for the best. I've seen enough of life to understand that it probably will work out that way, but, as is often the case, it's tough to see how that plays out when you're right in the middle of things.

On my commute home, I was listening to a TED Radio Hour on optimism, and one of the presenters suggested that, properly viewed, optimism was a form of resistance. Given my current situation, I really like the sound of that philosophy, and the introduction of that idea came a just the right time in my life. My outlook shifted immediately, and I've decided that this situation is not going to get me down. I'm going to Stick It to the Man with resistance through optimism.

In keeping with that world view, I'm going to get political for just a moment.

Capitol Building - Summer Afternoon

This election year has been a bit turbulent, but I have a great deal of faith that the American people are going to make a decision that works out for the best. This house in the picture above really does belong to the people, and I have faith in a system that has proven very resilient through times more trying than this epoch that we're experiencing right now. Whatever the results of the upcoming lesson, our ideals will survive because they are universal ideals being implemented by imperfect folks just like you and me.

"The Man" can make me move from a house, but he can't move my spirit. Challenge accepted. It's going to be a sporty day tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to what shakes out of it.