Athens, KY
As the sun sets on another day I have hope. Hope in an interesting thing, it comes to us with faith and asks us to believe in something that may or may not happen. There is no sure outcome with hope unless we turn it into action. If we tell a person we “hope they have a good day” we know they may, but may not. We have, however, taken a positive step towards giving them the positive outcome of getting that good day. Hope is not quantitative and we often feel because of such, it is out of our control. Hope can be positive, hope can be negative, and hope can be neutral. Hope is.
So why do I have hope? I have hope for positive outcomes that I have no control over, or that I choose not to control because of how I feel, or how I perceive situations. Sometimes I have hope so I can let someone come to a conclusion on their own. With children for example, sometimes they need to make mistakes and we “hope” they find a way. We also can hope a special person sees the truth, or a family member makes a mistake as it will help them grow while understanding we have the power to effect the situation, but the wisdom to give them the time to find their way. We hope daily we are doing the right thing, this is heavily true with children. I pray each day I guide my children down the right path, show them the world can be hard, and the world can be just, and the world can be full of love, or have the pitfalls that may hurt us all. My solace in all of that is that I will be there with the good and the bad, and though I make mistakes as well, will ford the way for them to learn from me towards happiness and benefit from my successes and my failures. I know times change and my opinions may change as I will grow as well, and it is my hope that they will know happiness through both my happiness and their own in knowing I will someday be truly happy as they will.
Hope is a positive force to be reckoned with as we give ourselves the power to teach others, and sometimes ourselves of the truth in our life. From a biblical standpoint God gives us the ability to do as we see fit, with no pre-destiny and instead gives us the free will in the hope we will find the right way. The hard part is determining which way is the right way in today’s complex society. We need to make decisions that are positive, and guide us towards love and fulfillment and avoid those decisions that lead to our suffering and demise.
I like the way Thich Nhat Hanh said it best:
Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.
Tomorrow: Hope Part 2 and Mother Teresa