Does the feeling that cynicism invades your soul, surrounds your spirit alter you? It seems everywhere. Conversations. Media. Everyone has sinister ulterior motives. No one can be trusted.
Singer and songwriter Nick Cave observed of himself:
Cynicism is not a neutral position—and although it asks almost nothing of us, it is highly infectious and unbelievably destructive. In my view, it is the most common and easy of evils.I know this because much of my early life was spent holding the world and the people in it in contempt. It was a position both seductive and indulgent.
He later changed his outlook:
It took a devastation to teach me the preciousness of life and the essential goodness of people. It took a devastation to reveal the precariousness of the world, of its very soul, to understand that it was crying out for help. It took a devastation to understand the idea of mortal value, and it took a devastation to find hope.
Blessed are those whose natural compass of life has guided them to hopefulness and helpfulness. It’s harsh to need a devastating event to change.
You can find good people everywhere. You can find evil. Discernment is knowing the difference with enough distance to avoid being sucked into contempt and cynicism.
Faith Venture 
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