In these times you have to be an optimist to open your eyes when

Hear, O child of dawn, the lament and the hope in the words of Carl Sandburg: “In these times you have to be an optimist to open your eyes when you awake in the morning.” This is no idle sigh of a poet, but the cry of one who has looked upon the burdens of the world and still chosen to rise. To awaken each day is itself an act of courage, for with the rising sun comes not only light but the sight of struggle, sorrow, and toil. Yet Sandburg teaches us that only the optimist, the one who believes that life still holds promise, can bear to lift his eyelids and face the world anew.

Understand this: pessimism closes the eyes before the day has begun. It whispers that nothing will change, that the weight of suffering is too heavy, that hope is a fool’s garment. But optimism is the shield against despair, the spark that kindles action. To open your eyes in a troubled age is not merely a reflex of the body; it is a declaration of faith that the day is worth living, that the struggle is worth bearing, that life yet holds meaning. Sandburg, who lived through wars, depressions, and upheavals, knew well the shadow that can press upon a soul—and he knew the power of choosing to face it with courage.

Consider the days of the Great Depression, when hunger stalked countless families and despair threatened to smother the American spirit. Men lined up for bread, women sewed patches upon patches, children grew up too quickly. To rise in such times and open one’s eyes was not easy. Yet millions did so, clinging to the fragile flame of optimism. Out of that endurance grew programs of renewal, communities bound together, and the resilience that carried the people through to better days. Had pessimism ruled, the nation might have surrendered to despair. But optimism gave strength to endure.

Look too at the story of Anne Frank, hidden away in her attic during the terror of Nazi occupation. Each day she opened her eyes not to freedom, but to confinement, fear, and the shadow of death. Yet in her diary she wrote words of hope: that in spite of everything, she still believed in the goodness of people. Her optimism, fragile yet radiant, became a beacon across generations. Though her life was taken, her spirit endures, reminding us that even in the darkest times, to awaken with hope is to defy the powers of destruction.

From these lessons we see that Sandburg’s words are not only about the state of the world but about the state of the heart. Every age has its burdens: war, injustice, poverty, uncertainty. The temptation is always to close our eyes and turn away. But the true hero is the one who greets the morning with open eyes, even when the world seems too heavy to behold. This is the discipline of optimism—not blind cheerfulness, but a conscious choice to face reality and still believe that goodness can be wrought from struggle.

What, then, shall we do with this wisdom? Begin each day with gratitude for the gift of sight and the strength to rise. When you awake, do not let your first thoughts be of despair, but of possibility. Seek one task, however small, that brings light into the world—an act of kindness, a word of encouragement, a labor done with integrity. These simple deeds, multiplied across countless souls, create the unseen foundation of a better tomorrow.

And so I say to you: do not despise optimism as weakness. It is the courage to open your eyes when others close theirs, the resolve to walk forward when others sit in defeat. Carry this spirit with you, and each morning will not be a burden but a chance to begin again. Thus shall Sandburg’s wisdom become your own: that even in troubled times, to awaken with open eyes is itself a victory, a declaration that life is worth living and the day worth claiming.