The Meaning of Hope

The words of a Christmas Carol from my childhood reverberates in my ears "Tis the season to be jolly". As I look out across the country, I can't rightly say the mood is jolly, it seems to be anything but. The mood of the country is directly tied to our pocketbooks and its contents. I had hoped that Black Friday shopping would have restored our confidence and our hope in the belief that things would turn around. I had even entertained the idea that cyber Monday shopping would reveal itself as one of the greatest phenomena of this age. But what I found was that the lines for returns were just as long as the check out lines had been at stores on Black Friday. Is this just a case of buyer's remorse?

I am not painting a picture of negativity,the reality is people are hurting. A vast majority have lost hope in our ability to rebound from the economic meltdown of 2008. The ramifications have been far reaching as people have lost jobs, displaced by relocation due to job loss, homes lost due to the foreclosure crisis and have watched as the family car is driven off down the drive way. It seems families are literally imploding as violence escalates in homes across the nation.

Where has hope gone? I would like us to take a moment to remember what made us great. In order to restore our hope, we are going to have to take comfort in our routine, affirm ourselves in the little things, remind ourselves that we will and can overcome the obstacles that are set in our path. We are going to have to re-energize, re- strategize, re-engineer,re-structure, resuscitate , rejuvenate and re-think traditional ways of coping while employing some new and creative strategies.

One of the first things I have learned to do in this new reality, is to give thanks for the little things. Every day I give thanks for health. I have come to appreciate the value of a healthy body, mind and soul. I give thanks for my family and their well being. I give thanks for my friends and how they are coping through various life situations. I have learned to delay dealing with some situations when they arise so that I can develop better strategies to handle them. I focus on the good, and try to rethink and sell myself an idea that a setback is nothing but another opportunity.

We cannot loose hope. It is part of the fabric we weave together on a daily basis in our lives. Hope sustains us. Hope encourages us. Hope pushes us to explore new ideas, new ways of doing things. What is the meaning of Hope?

H having O optimism P persistently E everyday

As we go through this season, and watch our fortunes rise and fall with the stock market, as our portfolios diminish, jobs are lost, homes foreclosed and displacement becomes the norm rather than the exception, let us purpose to maintain our HOPE: Having Optimism Persistently Everyday!

Live, Laugh, Love!