Imagination is a powerful word. To have a goal is to imagine something beyond where you’re at today. 

Progress requires both an imagined better situation and imagination as to how to get there.

I wish I had a dime for everyone I hear today say, “I don’t pay attention to the news anymore. It’s too depressing.” I get that. To see nothing but ugliness, injustice and conflict provokes cynicism and despair, anger and a demoralizing loss of hope.

It doesn’t have to be that way. If you just read how you process the world around us, there is an amazing amount of goodness and beauty. 

There are amazing achievements of mankind and humble acts of selflessness to help others.

There is the beauty of our natural world and its extraordinary rebirth every spring after the harsh death of winter. 

There are affirming friendships and simple acts of kindness from complete strangers.

If you look differently and open your eyes to see all this goodness, it replaces anger and despair with hope for a better future. It provides inspiration to strive for betterment of your surroundings, and provides purpose for your life to be a part of getting to that better future.

This is how I choose to live. 

My wife sometimes tells me I’m too idealistic, and she’s probably right. But it makes me happy and excited about life. 

This is also the source of many of my columns. I don’t want to accept the present or conserve some imagined “good old days.” I want to move forward as much as possible to a heaven on this earth. 

Here are some examples:

Imagine if our country was even nobler than it is today, a welcoming nation to people anywhere else in the world seeking a better life. After all, that’s how we started. 

There are 24,000 vacant properties in the city of St. Louis alone. Imagine immigrants moving into those homes, repairing and maintaining those homes, filling them with family, laughter and love.

Imagine them learning trade skills, filling vacant city jobs, becoming firemen and policemen. Imagine them gathering in faith communities, opening small businesses to serve their community, opening restaurants offering international cuisines, and welcoming us to interesting new music and cultural events.

Imagine if every single American has access to clean water and healthy food, regardless of their economic circumstances. 

Imagine every one of us having a roof over our head, a safe place to live and access to whatever healthcare we need, without judgment as to whether we deserve it.

Imagine if we paid people based on the societal value of their work. Imagine paying teachers more than baseball players. Imagine street gangs going out of business because our youth all have much better offers from our society. 

Imagine teen suicide and mental disorders plummeting as our children look excitedly at the future that awaits them as opposed to seeing a world they think we have irreparably ruined.

Imagine there is no abortion because every single pregnancy is wanted. Imagine that every expectant mother rests easy that there is the economic help, emotional support and healthcare access she will need to safely bring a new life into the world and continue to support the family that depends on her.

There is a song by Matthew West, a contemporary Christian musician, called “Do Something.” In the lyrics, he writes something you hear every day: 

“God, why don’t you do something about all the evil and wrong that surrounds us?” 

God’s answer is “I did. I made you.”

I believe we can make a better and more just world. 

It excites me every morning to think about some small contribution I can make or some small step we can collectively take. My faith rests on the idea that this is why I am here.

To focus on everything you think is wrong in the world, or to be fearful, is a dark mental space to live in. A core premise of faith is hope, and there is no hope when you despair of a world you think is falling apart with no chance to improve.

John Lennon said it best for me: 

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us.” 

We can make our world shockingly better, if only we exercised the collective will to do so. 

And that is exciting.