There Is Still Hope

Most of us recall where we were and what we were doing for the millennium. Twenty years on, 2020 will be another one to remember. From the global COVID-19 pandemic that swept across the planet causing fear and economic uncertainty world-wide which first saw us isolating in our homes, to civil unrest and protests against police brutality that has led us to rethink history and perhaps ponder on questions we had never considered before. Questions like, do I not see my own white privilege? Globally we are dealing with political issues so deeply rooted in complex layers that don't have one simple answer. It's no wonder it feels like the world has gone mad. Whether we agree or disagree with one another, 2020 has shaken our belief systems and had us re-evaluating what is most important to us both globally and personally.

I had been working from home for about a week in isolation when I first discovered Heading Home by Gryfinn. While adjusting to my new workout routine in my back garden I immediately felt moved. Perhaps it was the endorphins from my workout or the way the beat drummed through my headphones and absorbed me in muse. I felt a sense of connection with the world outside of my home bubble. A connection that said we are all one. I don't try to pretend that I understand the depths of the issues we currently face, but every time I listen to this song I feel hope.

Gryffin - Heading Home ft. Josef Salvat (Official Music Video)

The beauty of music and lyrics is that they can be subjective and leave a lasting impression. Heading Home has installed hope in me during a seemingly hopeless time for the world. Every time I listen to it I feel moved, I feel touched and I feel hope for us all. Is it possible that the world can live harmoniously as one? I think so. Although we are far from getting there, I believe it is possible.

There are three versus of the song that move me with emotion.

Cause people gonna judge

And people gonna talk

They can say what they like

Won't keep me up at night

No matter who you are, what your beliefs are, what pronouns you prefer or whether you are straight, gay or somewhere in between, people are always going to judge and talk, but when there is hope and you find a place you can call home inside of yourself none of this will keep you up at night.

If I could walk a mile in your old shoes

I know how it feels to dance like you

Like the old saying goes, until we walk a mile in someone else's shoes, we will never understand what it is like to walk their journey. We can never truly understand another person's path, but if we open our hearts with empathy and just try, we might begin to see what it feels to dance like you.

Maybe we're still lost

And maybe we'll never learn

But as the dust settles down, I'm glad you're here

I feel I'm finally headed home

Maybe as a human race we are still lost, and perhaps we will never learn what it truely means to be a human-being right now, but as the dust settles from the upheaval of chaos we find ourselves in, as long as we can find that peace and acceptance inside ourselves then maybe we can finally leave the old ways of being behind and head home to a world we can all call our own together.

It might seem like a pipe dream, but a little hope can do big things when installed in enough people. We can see that in today's #Black Lives Matter movement. It just took a few people with courage to speak out and act out with hope of a better world for black people and the movement caught like wildfire around the world.

Without hope. What have we got?