spread hope.
Life Can Be a Downer
The world can seem dark. Tragic. Depressing. Ugly.
The more I focus on the negative. The more I see it.
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There is bad news everywhere.
I'm not saying anything you don't already know or experience.
None of us lives in a bubble. None of us can avoid pain. Or suffering. Reality commands that we listen no matter how hard we try to ignore it.
But I, for one do not want to be numb. Or naive. Or in denial.
As hard as it is I do need to feel grief. Sadness. Sorrow. And even anger.
I think we all should to some degree.
But on the backside of that I refuse to let the fear win.
Because there is good happening in the world.
Beauty from ashes. People helping people. Much selfless giving.
There is still kindness. Grace. Generosity. Love.
But I must open my eyes to those stories.
I'm no Pollyanna. I have lived through my share of hardship. I know what it's like to focus on darkness. To carry the burdens of loss and shame. To feel painful suffering.
And yet, strangely enough our true, our real, our undeniable strength lies in our capacity for hope. Despite all the helpless circumstances. Despite horrific violence. Despite scary natural disasters. When I dare to hope I can look beyond today.
Pushing through to hope doesn't mean I'm not acknowledging the pain. I believe it means that I recognize fear but I refuse to let it define me.
I can't change bad things from happening. But I can change me.
I can give. I can share. I can love. I can spread hope.
And in this small way, I believe the light will overcome the darkness.
“I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that remains.”