There is no hiding, no denying, no pretending left. This world, our beloved world is just a mess. Not like a dropped pie kind of mess, or the hot mess of a pulsing dance floor, though thank god both of those pleasures are still available in some parts of our world, but an “untidy” state of things or a “confused or full of difficulty” state of being, to borrow from the folk at the Oxford Dictionary brain trust.
We are, though, past untidy into violent. Past confused into confounding and contrary to principles that have guided us over centuries. Decency is at risk. As is understanding. As is compassion. As is civility. It is harder and harder to face the young adults in my life with uplift, with optimism, with a full-hearted smile. Joy is laced with sorrow. Happiness with fear. Enthusiasm with doubt. No feeling is singular. No moment untouched by the rage and injustices rampant throughout our lands.
But hope…that I can offer. Not the fantasy hope that everything will be alright. Or that good will always win out over bad. Or that if we just keep our heads down everything will calm down.
No…not those delusions.
But hope…the understanding that we can take action that will bring about the possibility of a better future. That hope, that action-based, pragmatic notion, I am on board with and full-on invested in. That hope is available with just one shift in attention. The shift from noticing only the dark to see the light. The shift from our fears, worries, and doubts to remembering our strengths. The turn away from the news every now and then to seek out stories of the best of us in action. The shift from choosing victimhood to personal leadership and the shift from cynicism to positive movement.
Nick Cave, father, musician, songwriter and advocate of this beautiful world reminds us here that “hope is a warrior emotion,” made evident through every small act of care for each other:
This is the armor we must put on. This is the shield we must carry and pass on to those following us.
Or this from Howard Zinn:
“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic.
It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places – and there are so many – where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of the world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future.
The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
And this from Anne Lamott: “Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.“
Notice here the emphasis on watching and working, paying attention and doing what one can.
No one person can resolve all the insanities arising in our world. And yet one person can make a difference here at home, in the neighborhood of their living. Not one of us by ourselves can halt the rockets hurtling now, or the loading of guns to harm others in their sleep. Not one of us alone can bring about a dawn of peace or kindness across all the lands…and yet every single of one of can contribute to a better next moment.
We can be the lit tree, the warm blanket, the comfy sweater. We can be the voice of reason in the night, the soothing touch in the morning, and the hope-bedecked warrior in the day.
We are the ones to shelter and tend and march on behalf of goodness. We know how to be fierce and gentle, thoughtful and passionate, infinitely kind and radiantly persevering.
We are the heroes of today. Our time to care for our world and each other is now. There is no other time and no other call.
Love, Maria
