He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. Just as you do not know what the path of the wind is or how the bones are formed in the mother's womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not hold back your hands; for you do not know which will prosper, this one or that, or whether both alike will be good.

Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon, famous for being wise. However, for most of my life, I did not agree with many of the things written in it. It is only in recent years that more and more of it is sounding true. I suppose the book wasn't wrong; I was. And my limited life experiences and wisdom was the source of the disagreement. In many places, this book announces the harsh reality, which is vexing to those who had sheltered upbringings, and had an ideal notion that "good always triumphs over evil", to quote from Secondhand Lions. However, once you live long enough, and if you keep your eyes open throughout that time, you'll eventually see, as I did, that reality doesn't really care about what I think.

Despite the observation that reality is often less idealistic than we would prefer, Ecclesiastes encourages the reader to be optimistic with the passage quoted above. This, also, is truth.

I would consider myself a pessimist, and justify it by saying that, "when I'm wrong, that means the world is a better place than I expected, so either way, I win. Either I'm right, or things are better than I expected". Taking all factors into consideration, there is a strong case for leaning toward pessimism. However, recent events have led me to conclude that while one may be pessimistic, this should not lead to inaction, as it has in many areas of my life.

Having grown up through two major economic downturns - namely the Dot Com Bubble and the Great Recession, I was extremely pessimistic towards investing or otherwise participating in the stock market. This meant that I had limited exposure to the bull market that has lasted throughout the past decade. I also discouraged anyone who would listen from purchasing a house at the peak since 2013. The housing market has only risen for the past decade, though in the past year it seems to have peaked. I don't think I will ever cast caution into the wind, but looking back on the past decade, this is a clear example where my prediction of the future was resoundingly wrong.

Settling down and starting a family was also one aspect of my life in which I was overly pessimistic, which delayed things by years, or even a decade. I felt that I didn't want to get married to someone just to undo the marriage through divorce later on. Thus, I would only marry someone when I felt a lifelong success could be nearly guaranteed. Unfortunately, the future is full of unknowns, and this fear of the unknown kept me from committing. I eventually bit the bullet, and for a while, I wondered how I would look back on this fork in the road. Since my baby boy was born, I have had a radical change in mindset, and I'm glad I took the plunge. I would recommend that people start their own families and have their own kids. Life gets harder but also more joyful. Pets come close, but I think kids still win. Just don't marry a gold digger, and, as best as you can, communicate ahead of time to see if there's enough common ground to commit to a lifelong relationship.

Ultimately, my point is that I will trust in God more, trusting that he will cause my labor to be fruitful in an uncertain world.