Not Just About Me

As I work on this concept of hope, I’ve been coming across blogs, sermons, and discussions about hope everywhere. A reference to a similar situation; someone you know buys a new car and you suddenly notice that model at every intersection.

The basis for today was another HuffPost article. Please consider waiting to read the linked article until you're in a good place as it mixes great sorrow with a couple of impactful points that matter to us as we walk through this life.

I’ve mostly thought about hope as something internal to each of us. I have understood hope as a kind of self-generated stiff-upper-lip mindset. A pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps if you will. I might have been a bit off the mark though.

Although hope itself is ethereal, it also acts like concrete. We tightly cling to this ‘almost physical’ concept in the darkest times as we dream of a better future. We deeply trust better will be so. 

“Hope is a powerful thing ... and so is stealing it from someone.”  
(Kristyn Jo Benedyk)

This quote was the first time I stopped when reading Kristyn’s article. What? Hope can be stolen? When considering her statement, I realized that theft occurs frequently – and even worse, I am sometimes the thief.  

Although in some sense, my theory of self-generated hope is partly true, it is also the case that everyone needs and depends on hope. So, questions at once came to mind. 

• In my attempts to solidify trust in a better future, do I rob others of their dreams and desires?
• Am I discouraging their hopes while encouraging despair with inconsiderate words or actions?
• Might I be extinguishing their flickering flame of hope as I carelessly dismiss the validity of their desires?

These questions demand serious answers. Wounding another in this way wounds all of us collectively. Culturally, if we lose the ability to hope, we are lost. 

The mitigating factor here is found in hope itself. Yes, it can be snuffed out, but somehow, it can be rekindled. It smolders beneath the surface of our hearts and can become a fire again.

A set of confirming actions is available for us to reignite hope in others and by doing so, we’ll be flaming the coals of 'better' in ourselves as well. The spark we offer to one another will also create a flame of hope for us.

And here is the second revelation of the HuffPost article. In just a few words, it lays out the foundation for the defenders of hope. 

“After Kim passed, the first thing I found when cleaning out her 

nightstand was a journal. 

Written on the first page in her handwriting were two sentences: 
We are not here for ourselves. We are here to love and serve others.”

I Asked My Sister To Try To Die On Feb. 29. 
Her 6-Word Response Completely Broke Me.

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."  Ephesians 4:29

Notes: Full Disclosure

Artificial Intelligence is becoming commonplace. Like any technology, there is good - there is bad.

So, two things:

1. I have begun to experiment with AI on two fronts. The image in today's piece was generated by Microsoft Copilot Designer.
2. My use of AI will be confined to research. I will never publish an article written with Artificial Intelligence. "My words only" will be the rule, for better or worse.