I don't think the world focuses on the positive things enough.

Dwyane Wade once said: “I don’t think the world focuses on the positive things enough.” These words, simple and unadorned, are like an arrow loosed from the bow of truth. They pierce the heart of our age, which so often bends its ear toward sorrow, scandal, and shadows. In them we hear the lament of one who has walked amidst both glory and pain, who has tasted victory on the court yet seen the bitterness of human judgment, and who knows that the true strength of a people lies not only in their critique but in their celebration of the good.

Consider, child of tomorrow, how easily the mind is drawn to the storm. The thunders of failure echo louder than the whispers of triumph, and thus we grow blind to the warmth of the sun while counting only the lightning bolts. Wade’s words are not the complaint of an idle spirit; they are a reminder that to live only by measuring faults is to starve the soul. To focus on the positive is not naïve; it is the highest discipline of wisdom. For in the midst of trial, it is the good that nourishes the weary heart.

In the chronicles of history, one may recall the tale of Winston Churchill during Britain’s darkest hour. When bombs fell from the heavens and the sky turned red with fire, despair sought to claim every home. Yet Churchill chose words not of defeat but of courage: “We shall never surrender.” He understood, as Wade now reminds us, that to magnify despair is to yield to it, but to magnify hope is to kindle a flame that even the strongest winds cannot quench. Thus, in exalting the positive, a people were steeled to endure.

Even in the life of the athlete himself, the lesson resounds. Dwyane Wade was not born into comfort or crowned by destiny at birth. He emerged from struggle, from streets where shadows were longer than dreams. Had he chosen to gaze only upon hardship, his soul might have withered. Yet he lifted his eyes to the possibility of greatness, finding mentors, seizing discipline, and crafting his body and spirit into instruments of triumph. This is the living testament of his words: that the world yields beauty when the gaze is fixed not on what drags us down, but on what lifts us higher.

But let no one think that this teaching commands us to ignore sorrow, injustice, or the wounds of our age. No—such denial would be folly. Rather, the call is to balance. The world already gives weight to what is broken; the true warrior of the spirit gives weight also to what is whole and healing. For only then can the heart remain strong enough to mend the world’s wounds. Without this discipline, despair corrodes the will, and the hands grow too weak to labor for justice.

Therefore, beloved listener, let the lesson be engraved upon your heart: seek out the light within the shadows. When your neighbor speaks of sorrow, remind them too of joy. When your soul dwells upon what is lacking, recall also what is abundant. Train your thoughts as one trains the body—each day turning your eyes toward the positive, until it becomes the natural rhythm of your being. This is no idle exercise, but a shield against despair and a sword against apathy.

Practically, let your actions follow this wisdom. Keep a record of gratitude, whether in ink upon a page or in the quiet of your mind. Speak words of praise more often than words of complaint. When you gather with others, bring forth stories of kindness, heroism, and renewal, that the feast may be richer than bitterness alone. And when you see goodness—whether in the strength of a child, the sacrifice of a friend, or the courage of a stranger—do not let it pass in silence, but magnify it so the world may hear.

For in the end, the words of Wade are not merely a reflection but a summons. To focus on the positive is not the task of the few but the duty of the many. If enough hearts take up this labor, the world will change its song: from dirges of despair to hymns of hope, from endless complaints to enduring gratitude. And so, future generations may look back and say of us: they chose not only to see the shadows but to kindle the light.