When the spring season rolls in from the chill of winter, the Washington DC region dips a brush onto a striking palette of glorious white and pink blossoms. As I recently stood alone on a grassy knoll, a breeze emerged, unexpectedly blowing a collection of tiny blossoms from the trees, which settled at my feet. It was as if a pathway of hope had been marked by the delicate petals, an invitation to step away from what for many has been a season of discontent and doubt.

It occurred to me amidst that peaceful setting to edge up against the word doubt, to embrace it for a moment. The word is complex. We never yearn for it, but we so learn from it. And while sometimes discouraging, the feeling can also be motivating. Embedded within the word doubt is a word that with a contrasting irony offers a path of action to help us emerge from uncertainty. It may not be immediately apparent, but it calls out to offer counsel. There in the beginning of the word doubt is do.

Here in Washington DC, a unique chapter of political division and dispersion has harvested doubt. Subsequently, there is a growing disbelief in the lasting legacy of democracy and doubt in a peaceful and prosperous future. To counteract such feelings, we should remember the do in doubt.

When we are uncertain there are many things we can do to shape the world in the image we would like. First and foremost, we should remember that we hold a pen, a tool, and that we are a writer, a painter, a creator, a shaper of what values we want to see in the world.

President Abraham Lincoln was surrounded by a life of challenge and doubt, but he remained resolute. He once wrote, “I do the very best I know how - the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end.” He was an exemplar of holding up the do in doubt.

Lincoln’s world as president was to bear the weight and worries of a young nation tragically at war with itself, and to guide that nation forward into new pastures. The office we hold is different, but his human example and approach to taking action and doing while surrounded by clouds of doubt very much applies to what we should be thinking.

The world we live in has many challenges. It does seem overwhelming at times, and this saps our optimism and confidence in our ability to change it. If each day we start with the simple acts of what we can do to improve the world then we will capture a more positive outlook. By simple acts of what we can do, I refer to supporting colleagues at work, encouraging friends, and uplifting family members. That type of doing fosters the goodwill needed to keep us moving forward in times of doubt.

So, when that divisive voice emerges again and sows the seeds of doubt, we have a choice. We can give in, fertilise it with indifference or we can choose to do, let it motivate us, plant our own seeds of positivity. To adjust Hamlet’s question, we should ask, to do or not to do?

Washington DC has many lessons to teach, this season of spring I relearned from tree blossoms that our path forward can be hopeful as long as we do what we can to shape it. I am glad to be aligned with readers and leaders like you who take positive steps each day to do – to shape the peaceful world we all want and deserve.                          

Ian Houston is a regular writer for the Herald. He has spent his career as an advocate for diplomacy, trade, poverty alleviation, and intercultural dialogue. He promotes commercial, educational, artistic, and charitable linkages between Scotland, UK, and the US. He is an Honorary Professor at the University of the West of Scotland. He is located in the Washington, DC area. His views are his own.