Good morning. Hope.
Hope doesn’t mean “Yeehaw we’re all set now, nothing but blue skies, la la la!” It’s more like the cleared space when a tangle loosens, the strands part. In case anyone’s wondering what I’m talking about, on Tuesday elections across the US, in blue states and red states and swing states, Trump and his party lost. Our courts are acting; so are our leaders. At last.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s still so much wrong and much work to do. But if I’ve learned anything these last several years, it’s that absent an immediate emergency, or notable suffering, much of how we feel is up to us. After a decade of emergencies, I’m trying to refocus my inner eye on hope, awe and beauty. Just the little things, no big deal.
Sadly, much of what my outer eyes sees involves cleaning and maintaining my house. When will I finally get the windows replaced? These are not the little things I enjoy. But I can feel awe at the way dogwood leaves brown and curl at their edges, or how a baby learning to lie on her stomach cocks her head and look up at a beloved aunt. Good places for hope. Your own hope probably has other hangouts. Oh, and when located, I sort of store it up for rainy days.
This strategy does imply making yourself roll around in the good moments like a baby elephant in mud.
Meanwhile, today is sunny. Have a wonderful weekend.
10 Responses
Refocusing on hope, awe and beauty — and rolling around in good moments like a baby elephant in mud! — sounds wonderful. <3 Sometimes dark times make us appreciate the tiny moments of light so much more.
Have a beautiful weekend full of sun and hope. xoxox
Thanks, Jess. I’m working towards be able to drop the dark perspective more often. When appropriate;)
Greetings from Canada – so happy for the US, hoping it has started on a long road to what is hopefully recovery and healing.
Glad too that the SNAP benefits have at least partially been restored – it’s just heartbreaking to hear the stories of people who need to have SNAP in order to survive – the people who are cancer patients and can’t work, the people who have had a medical disaster like MS, and also can’t work, the veterans injured in defending their country, the parents who are working 2 to 3 jobs just trying to survive, and who still can’t make ends meet for their families. (Canada also has an increasing number of people needing Food Bank assistance).
The economies of both countries are intertwined and deteriorating; no man is an island.
Courage!
Appropriately enough, I am currently reading *The Book of Hope*, but Dr. Jane Goodall. Highly recommend.
I am also appreciating the sound trouncing — I mean — definitive election victories of last Tuesday night! I checked the NYT website before bed and went to sleep feeling just that much lighter.
Ha! Sound trouncing it is;)
The elections spoke loudly. There is still much to do but we are off to a good start.
NYC now has a bright star in place and let’s hope for more like him.
Such a relief to see the collective pushback. It was great to see the support for some of the young antiestablishment candidates in our local races — even though they didn’t win, they got a significant portion of votes. Tiny numbers, but a cause for hope.
You have mentioned this twice now: my decade from hell, and now my decade of emergencies.
So you have been through it, and you never even let on. This says you got early training in coping under pressure. I did not.
I have no use for Hope. Just let me know how it comes out, and I’ll deal with it then. A mirror of my upbringing. I’m very good at it by now.
Even ED’s “Hope is the thing with feathers,” only means to me it will fly away at will [not at all her intent, only my experience].
SNAP permanently cancelled; SNAP restored; SNAP partially cancelled; no SNAP partially restored under judicial review at lower courts to see if partially restored will work given the….
And I wish you a wonderful weekend too, Lisa!
Flo, sometimes I hope not because I feel it’s warranted, but because they want me to give up. By the way I’m great in a crisis — because it was always my problem from an early age; I was the one thrown between someone and whatever could damage them. Not exactly what it sounds like you’re alluding to, but wanted to extend some solidarity.
Wishing you and all of us hope-worthy developments.
Thank you for the “extended solidarity” of your response, Maria. I caught it, and I’m holding on to it!
I’m stuck in the moment – to use Lisa’s words – because I can’t find “the cleared space when a tangle loosens, the strands part.” One-tangle-a-day, that’s the speed with which he keeps this country off balance.
But I know that space is there, and I know I’ll feel it when that space is a cleared channel. Maybe that’s what Hope is, after all?