Whether it is truly a Chinese curse to wish upon a person "may you live in interesting times", we have doubtlessly found ourselves living in heady days. Chalk it up to tension over North Korea and Syria, the lingering shock of Donald Trump in the White House, a resurrected Pauline Hanson or nervous tension that a housing bubble might finally burst – whatever anxiety grips you in the moment.
But if you're unwrapping chocolate eggs today, remember, as Charlie Chaplin was reputed to say, "you'll never find a rainbow if you're looking down".
Savour the chocolatesCredit: James Brickwood
It's perfectly reasonable to worry about the storm shadows cast by the uncertainty of the moment and it would be glib to pretend there are not enormous challenges to face. Yet it is also important to take the long view of human progress, to pause every now and then and remember that as complex as the modern world can appear (and can actually be), life is typically far better now than in years gone by.
Malcolm Turnbull used to preach optimism and he was right, not only as a counterpoint to the relentless negativity of Tony Abbott. Turnbull would observe that barely 40 years ago, there was no Apple computer company and hardly more than a decade has past since Facebook was founded. Think about the profound transformation both companies alone have on the lives of people all around the globe. You can debate the good and the ill of their products; maybe even tweet about it. Imagine what the next decades can bring.
Alongside the information technology revolution has come tremendous advances in human health. The scourge of polio has been checked and while complacency remains a danger, given the disease still afflicts war ravaged and fragile nations, the near eradication of this paralysing virus is a remarkable achievement.
China has lifted millions out of poverty and since 1990 has risen 11 ranks on the widely regarded United Nations Human Development Index that measures health and education outcomes instead of only economic values. Bosnia and Herzegovina has leapt 14 ranks in the same time, an extraordinary achievement for a country ravaged by a vicious ethnic war only two decades ago.
As Australians, we claim the mantle, however ironic it was originally intended, of being the lucky country. Our polity has been fractious, but the arc of improvement has been considerable in race relations, women's rights and addressing social disadvantage.
The opportunity for further progress is obvious, especially in recognising Indigenous Australians and legalising same-sex marriage; but the old White Australia venality has no serious constituency. And for all the bitter stoush about wind and solar energy, the UN estimates the proportion of global electricity provided by renewables rose to 11.3 per cent in 2016, stopping about 1.7 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions polluting the atmosphere.
Research from Monash University into social cohesion in Australia last year showed the country is less inclined to believe life will improve in the next three or four years than a decade ago. This should serve as a warning not to allow sentiment to become self-fulfilling. We should certainly focus on problems, the great danger of climate change or ensuring everyone has equal opportunity.
But savour the chocolate and recall the advances that brought us to this moment, as well as the mistakes. It needn't be a religious message to wish to celebrate progress and to recognise that for all the problems that lie before us, people have managed to overcome profound challenges in the past.