Radical Optimism

Rev. Joan Halifax
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Radical optimism is a big view of the moment that does not include outcome. Another way of saying this is that the radical optimist is not undertaking an investment plan. Rather he or she is involved in a plan free of design.

Bearing witness in Auschwitz or on the streets of the Bowery is just bearing witness. Only a radical optimist can bear witness; if there is a thought to outcome, then one cannot be with the truth of what is actually happening.

Why are so many of us looking for the big spiritual payoff? We will all be dead soon enough. So what’s the big deal? Are we hoping to have a good death? Is that what drives us? Or do we want to make it in the spiritual big-time here and now?

Trungpa Rinpoche, when he used the phrase “spiritual materialism,” was not just referring to the material adornments of the spiritual path, the material bells and whistles of practice. He was directly addressing our desire to “get enlightenment,” the big bell and whistle. In our lives, there are endless truth events; each moment is one. If practice is self serving and a means to a so-called greater end, then practice becomes an investment where you expect a profit. How can we be at one with a particular moment if we are expecting something?

Practice not entered for the goal of enlightenment is simply being in life. When thoughts of outcome guide our actions, then we are caught in the great dilemma of dualism. Being with no gaining idea is the practice of radical optimism, an optimism free of time and space, object and subject, yet embedded in the very stuff of our daily lives. It is an optimism that arises from what Bernie Glassman calls not knowing, or what Vimalakirti called the inconceivable.

Dogen reminds us that to raise the mind of compassionate awakening is none other than the whole of daily activity with no concern for one’s self, no thought of outcome, no sense of self-gratification. This is radical optimism. It means that whatever is, is the best that there is at this moment. Just this, wholey this, only this.

Rev. Joan Halifax is a teacher, anthropologist, ecologist, civil rights activist, hospice caregiver, and the author of several books. Excerpted from here.

SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How do you relate to the notion that only a radical optimist can bear witness? Can you share a personal story of a time you were able to act without thoughts of outcomes? What helps you avoid the trap of spiritual materialism?

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18 Past Reflections

On Jun 29, 2023 Ronnie Dunetz wrote :

This is a very meaningful concept that resonates. I am wondering if it is any different than "radical acceptance"? I am definiely caught up in this "race to find the answers"- it might be here, it might be there...no., not there....definitely not there...and so on.
Radical optimism perhaps is different in one way: a belief that whatever is will lead to something that will lead to something, and that is the way to train the mind...is this so?

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On Jun 22, 2023 Gail Thrift wrote :

For me, an example of radical optimism, was bearing witness to my mother's transition and caring for her, along with my sisters during that time. There were times I was not attached to an outcome (trusting her soul was ready to return Home) and being in the moment with her, sitting mostly in silence.

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On Jun 22, 2023 judy carran wrote :

This so perfectly worded. I am grateful to add this to my collection of dynamic messages nd share it with others. As a child I was taught to act without thought of outcome, but it was barren and I gravitated to a period of alters, sounds and sacred objects. But it was empty. Sometimes I hold an object or a sound as a symbol. When I deliver food to my elderly neighbor, when I listen as we walk, when I free the bird from the netting, Last week a woman smiled and spoke in the grocery aisle. That smile awakened me to my tense expression. I went back and thanked her for that smile and greeting, and she glowed. I think these smallest gestures are practice without outcome that keep us alive in the present.

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On Jun 21, 2023 Anil Pandit wrote :

Like to link the chemistry perspective of radical (bearing a charge) to our lives. Being charged with prime energy source is linking self with the infinite. There is no past or future ... just the present.

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On Jun 21, 2023 kathryn andersen wrote :

Sounds like a helpful switch from having a finite mindset to a more infinite one. There is no winning or losing in the game of life, it's just living.

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On Jun 20, 2023 Beth wrote :

The hunt to be who you are to be or think you are to be is futile. It means, just as you are, is not enough and it pushes you further away from the presence of each moment that passes. Awaken to Now and move with all its blessings, ah-ha moments, and challenges and you will become …happiest. Contentment comes when you stop trying so hard.

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On Jun 20, 2023 Deylight wrote :

Greetings, Radical Optimism is how I tried to live and view life since I can remember (40yrs.)It can feel onely; being in the moment because it makes life simpler...most don't want simpler. They thrive on drama...usually a product of ..."what next" - still "this now" helps me balance. peace

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On Jun 20, 2023 Lavinia wrote :

I am merely human, and as such, cannot help but long for more. Radical optimism is not a birthright. it is the result of inner efforts based on a wish.. We all experience moments of NOW. But to live with "no concern for one’s self, no thought of outcome, no sense of self-gratification" paradoxically requires having the wish to be compassionately awake.

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On Jun 20, 2023 Many am wrote :

Can any being or entity simply observe? Same sensory input is processed differently in roshomon style even when there is no action taken. It seems like fabric of our minds are stitched to process and predict even if the action is nothing.

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On Jun 19, 2023 Ellen wrote :

Optimism seems attached to the notion that the outcome will be positive/successful. I think simple observation would be objective and not attached to any result be it positive or negative.

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On Jun 18, 2023 Chelsea wrote :

For me bearing witness is being judgement free. There is always an outcome of every action, and on some level we are aware of that reality; even when we are in the present moment and free of any intention for a specific outcome. Radical optimism is the idea that whatever happens just is, and we do not need to concern ourselves with the outcome and whether it is good, bad, or what we want. In the case of enlightenment we are often motivated to engage in the path because we want to be free of the pain of our existence. This is not radical optimism, because it assumes that the pain of existence is something to be escaped or avoided. Last summer my son died at the age of 17 after a two year battle with drug addiction and the pain of his existence that led him to feel the need to escape. I am in the process of experiencing intermittent tremendous grief. Sometimes when I experience the grief I am in part making the time and space because I want to process the grief and move to the other side... [View Full Comment] For me bearing witness is being judgement free. There is always an outcome of every action, and on some level we are aware of that reality; even when we are in the present moment and free of any intention for a specific outcome. Radical optimism is the idea that whatever happens just is, and we do not need to concern ourselves with the outcome and whether it is good, bad, or what we want. In the case of enlightenment we are often motivated to engage in the path because we want to be free of the pain of our existence. This is not radical optimism, because it assumes that the pain of existence is something to be escaped or avoided. Last summer my son died at the age of 17 after a two year battle with drug addiction and the pain of his existence that led him to feel the need to escape. I am in the process of experiencing intermittent tremendous grief. Sometimes when I experience the grief I am in part making the time and space because I want to process the grief and move to the other side where it is not so painful - this is materialism. Yesterday I was having a particularly difficult time with the pain. It was my son's un-graduation day - his peers had their graduation ceremony. As I was allowing the present moment, including the pain of the loss and the details I was associating with it, it occurred to me that this was his only un-graduation day, and that I would never feel this quality of pain, this particular experience of loss, again. And over time, as has happened with my grief over the loss of my father who died almost 30 years ago, I will not feel pain of this intensity about my son anymore. And suddenly rather that being in that painful moment because I want to get to the other side of my grief, I was in that painful moment because that painful moment was, and I was, and my son was, and so it was. And I was there just because there is where I was. And that is a radical optimism. That our moments, no matter the quality or hues, are there for what they are, not for what comes next, not for what they will gain or create for us. The trap of spiritual materialism is that we do not get to be entirely present with what is because part of our awareness is focussed on what will be, what is good, and what is bad. Materialism fractures the moment and limits our experience. Acceptance, non-judgement, surrender, and appreciation can help us to experience our spirituality and the wholeness of our being, including our very human circumstances, in the moment in which they occur, whether they are painful, joyful, or anything in between. [Hide Full Comment]

2 replies: Becky, Song | Post Your Reply

On Jun 17, 2023 Hareshwar Singh wrote :

With due apology to Rev. Joan Halifax, I wish the extract was titled a bit differently because the very word ‘optimism’ smacks of future, implying time, doesn’t it? Merriam-Webster Dictionary, while defining this word, includes the words: ‘anticipating the best outcome’. If I were to retitle it, I would prefer ‘Celebrating this very eternal moment’ or ‘Refusal to budge from Here & Now’ or ‘The ultimate art of living with positivity—about nothing’, etc.
What Rev. Halifax talks of is the best form of theism sans God and which is BEYOND all known religious faiths on earth. It reminds me of what J. Krishnamurti calls ‘living from moment to moment while dying to each moment without collecting any residue psychologically’. No wonder he became notoriously famous for maintaining all his life: ‘Truth is a pathless land.’ He talked of a religious mind that doesn’t believe in any religion.

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On Jun 16, 2023 Jagdish P Dave wrote :

The philosophy of Radical Opitimism deeply resonates in me. The concept of radical optimism looks identical with the concept of Karma Yoga in the Bhagavad Gita. Karma Yoga is a spiritual path of doing actions withiout any expections of outcomes. The input and the output, the action without expectation of a reward is radical optimism-selfless action, a path of selfless service. To me Bearing Witness means serving others with no expectation of a reward for my action, free from attachment to the outcome of my action. It becomes a mantra for radical optimism, a light house that enlightens my path of daily living.
Spiritual materialism is very seductive, very tasetive, and possesive. Having deep trust in the spiirual way of living and follwoing the spiritual path faithfully is very helpful to me for avoiding the trap of spiritual materialsm. Practing mindfulness meditation keeps me on the path of Radical Optimism. And it is angoing pilgrimage for me.
Namaste.
Jagish P Dave

1 reply: Chelsea | Post Your Reply

On Jun 16, 2023 Silvana wrote :

This reminds me a lot of Krishnamurti’s work too, but also, more recently, of Michael Singer’s “The Untethered Soul!”. It is truly beautiful and inspiring and perhaps that’s what humanity should be aiming for – oh, wait, there is no aiming for!! 😊 At every step one can notice how tricky it is to get our mind around the conditioning that is so deeply rooted! We are always taught to aim for something – even as we aim to clear our mind of aiming… Personally, I love the idea of living with joy and embracing every moment with gratitude. Living without judgement is so liberating. For me, it is the larger perspective that does the trick. Expanding awareness to the mysterious universe we call our home. I marvel at the infinity of the universe and its abundance of beauty. That is enough to feed my soul for a while. It allows me to experience oneness with everything. And everything seems so fresh and new. Just staying open, staying aware. But living in our current wo... [View Full Comment]

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On Jun 16, 2023 David Doane wrote :

I love Joan Halifax' description of radical optimism -- that it's not an investment plan and it is a plan free of design, both of which ruin many a good action. Only the radical optimist can bear witness means to me that a person bears witness in doing right action because it is right and not to bring about some desired outcome. Right compassionate pure action is its own reward. My greatest fulfillment is when I express from my truth in the moment without any agenda, not trying to control or manipulate an outcome, and leave outcome to forces bigger than me. What helps me avoid the trap of spiritual materialism is having faith in and living what I have written, and sometimes I do. The mantra that helps me is right process, not outcome.