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Hope is in the Air

Let it In

By Bob McInnisPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
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Where does hope come from? My head? My heart? My faulty logic? Some survival strategy? Are the myths, stories, and misconceptions we tell ourselves the source or the suffocation of hope? I am not sure how hope manifests, but I am sure that it becomes infectious, viral, and creative as I observe it. If I just keep my dim eyes open and wait, will hope walk across my path? Or am I charged with some responsibility to seek the hopeful moments, situations, and individuals occupying my small piece of the world? I do a bit of both, chase and wait. When I am active in my pursuit, more hope awaits me and having more hope affirms and confirms the next incident or re-frames the situation from tragic to something better. The world offers us joy, opportunity, challenge, and renewal as and when they are needed. Accepting the gift and accepting responsibility for their stewardship is a powerful and enriching experience. Don't let it slide by without grabbing hold. Hold tight and make the moments last. You will be better, your world would be better, and the future will be better for all of us.

Unfortunately, many are watching for and pursuing despair and distrust as a shield. We see pain and look for more. We hear a lie and accept it as truth and stop believing in something better. They have their worldview confirmed because the object of their quest is hopelessness. The noise from 24 hours a day news cycles (regardless of their political leaning) pollutes the airwaves and infects our hearts and heads. It seems we have become addicted to bad news. There are no mass-produced sources of hope, just division, and hatred. We need to become the gardeners and celebrators of good news and the viral network spreading it across our small circles.

You know that we have hundreds of choices that we don't often exercise or even consider for regular readers. Choosing to seek and find hope is another choice. Hope isn't one choice. It is a series of small forks in the road. It relies on one step following another until hope blinds us with her possibilities and a different view of problems. This isn't rose=colored glasses washing away reality. This approach sees the world as both broken and building. When Amanda Gorman recited "The Hill We Climb" at the recent inauguration, one sentiment stood out for me in the first stanza.

When day comes, we ask ourselves,

where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry,

a sea we must wade

We've braved the belly of the beast

We've learned that quiet isn't always peace

And the norms and notions

of what just is

Isn't always just-ice

And yet the dawn is ours

before we knew it

Somehow we do it

Hope is the lens that allows me to see the difference between just-is and justice. I realize that there is a temptation to hope that things return to normal this year, but our world, our country, ourselves can be better than the normal we yearn for. I hope you find new possibilities, exciting promise, powerful passion, and manageable problems in perfect proportion. What would even one of those mean in your life?

My challenge for the next 6 weeks is to have us all watch for hope and chase it with passion. Will you join me?

At the end of each day, reflect on where you saw someone making a difference, something good inching forward, a reason to smile. Write down all these happenstances and share them with someone you love. Ask them where they witness hope blossom and encourage them to plant a seed of hope with someone they care about. Hopeful,

B

healing
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About the Creator

Bob McInnis

I am therefore I ask questions. Lately, my questions have been about our survival as a species, our zealous and unrealistic quest for freedoms, and what appears to be an aversion to responsibilities.

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