Sanguine. It is easily one of my favorite words. I love how it feels to say it. I love how it sounds.

It is beautifully defined in one of my favorite TV shows “Firefly” with the following quote:

Zoë: You sanguine about the kinda reception we’re apt to receive on an Alliance ship, Captain?

Mal: Absolutely. What’s “sanguine” mean?

Zoë: Sanguine. Hopeful. Plus, point of interest, it also means “bloody”.

Mal: Well, that pretty much covers all the options, don’t it?

I rather dwell on the “hopeful” definition of the word. That’s always been my favorite part of the definition. Lately, things have been less than good in my world. My heath is a bit shaky. My job is less than stellar. A dear cousin was just diagnosed with cancer. Two dear friends and members of my RA support group just had their disability claims denied. The world isn’t too kind in my eyes these days.

All that tends to make a person less than sanguine about things. That’s where best friends come in handy. Last night during a conversation with my best friend she said just the right thing. I told her that keeping positive was getting to be a daily, uphill battle. She responded with, “It’s still okay to get mad and be angry sometimes.” Having someone tell you that your anger is okay is amazingly freeing. When you’re allowed to be angry, you feel that anger and then let it go.

So this morning, I’m a bit more sanguine about things. And since I am a bit better today (mentally at least) here’s one of my favorite songs. It also features the word sanguine. Enjoy. And stay hopeful everyone.