What gives you hope? And what, if anything, makes you question hope? And what makes you question your questions of hope? #postaday2011

Hope is the feeling that the feeling you have isn't permanent.

Jean Kerr

Hope is the dream of a soul awake. 

French Proverb

Dum spiro, spero (Latin) While I breath, I hope.

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.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Without hope there is little reason to move forward. What gives me hope is the knowing that whatever it is that I am experiencing - no matter how horrid or joyful - it will change and something will take it's place. Each life experience is an opportunity to learn more about me, about me in relation to others, and about life. Lessons come in a variety of ways - some with accomplishment, joy, happiness, and pleasure; and other with failure, sorrow, sadness, and pain. Both of these experiences are needed in the course of a lifetime. A person without sorrow really doesn't know joy. A person without failure really doesn't know accomplishment.  


Hope quotes like those at the beginning of this post have been my motivation to move ahead another day. When my children were younger, 7 and 4 years old, I took them to the highest hill (we lived on a prairie) at sunset and said, "No matter what kind of day you have had - be it good or be it not so good - there is one thing you can count on, the sun will set and the day will end." We would watch the sunset, talk about our day and swat mosquitoes. The next morning we would climb the same hill before the sun rose and as it came up over the bluff I would say, "This day is a gift. We have many possibilities for today. We decide how we react to the things that happen to us and we also decide how we treat others in our day. Let's make today a good day where we can and if this isn't possible, know that this day, like yesterday, will come to an end. If we are fortunate we will get another 'do over.' "


I don't question my hope. I know that the right thing, the good thing, the honest thing, the appropriate thing will always come ahead eventually. In the moments when this doesn't seem possible, I hand onto the examples of where this has been true in my life and I make sure I am doing the right thing, the good thing, the honest thing, the appropriate thing when and where I can.


Hope is a choice that I choose daily. Hope is an attitude that we can control - even when there isn't a glimmer of possibility...it will come if we hope.

A night I'll never forget!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008. I worked until 6:30 pm, it was already dark out side, but a beautiful 67 degrees as I walked out of the office! As I arrived home I heard the television set boasting news and early election information. There wasn't any numbers in yet, but shortly returns began as the polls closed on the east coast and numbers were coming in...McCain was ahead and the thought of a repeat from 2000 or 2004 was on my mind. Things began to shift in favor of Obama. We had plans for joining the Story County Democrats at a local bar, Legends, to celebrate, but wanted to wait until later in the evening to join the crowd. So we sat on the coach, both Dan and I with our laptops, flipping channels between CNN, MNBC, C-Span, and for laughs...Fox News while I was Twittering, visiting Facebook, and reading Huffington Post updates. It was quite the night. We arrived at Legends around 9 pm and the place was hopping already. Media were set-up, Dems were mingling and keeping an eye on the multiple television screens throughout the restaurant. The place really got excited as Obama started gaining over 100 electoral. When he went over the required 270 the place went wild! Claps, cheers, dancing, jumping...it was wonderful. Several of the local and state elected officials were with us, lots of hand shaking, back patting, and hugging going on. We couldn't hear much of McCain's speech, not that we really needed or wanted to, but the body language was loud and clear - "Get me the hell off of this stage." I don't think McCain ever wanted to win, I think his selection of Palin was intentional to cause him to lose...in addition to his own personal/political challenges. When Obama came to the microphone the place was silent. The establishment turned up the volume on all the television sets and folks stood watching. As he spoke tears came to my eyes, the kept coming and ran down my cheeks, neck, and dampened by Obama t-shirt. He spoke for all that haven't been heard before. Obama speaks from a position of understanding privilege, dominance, subordination, and oppression. He understands the lived experiences of many who have never had someone with positional leadership and power. The hope the exudes from Obama has been absorbed by many. This IS the time for change, for paradigms to shift, for the world to come together and care for each other first and compete with each other second. It was a night I will never forget. My hope and dream is that we all not let this feeling of possibilities slip from our hearts and minds.