I’ll have a side of Hope with that…

So, I’m getting ready for work this morning, letting my mind wander, as is my wont. And I‘m listening to the comedy station on my phone, as I usually do, and one of my favorite comedians comes on, Christopher Titus. Now, I tried…really I did…to transcribe the bit that he was doing, but, let’s face it, I have zero future as a secretary or transcriptionist. :-)

So, here’s the link to the bit. Titus. Now, before you go any further, I insist that you go listen to this one. It’s only 5 minutes and 14 seconds. So go…I’ll wait…

Back? Great. Now, one of the things that I love about Titus is that he makes me think about things. Things in my own life and about the World in general. I believe that that is the best kind of comedy. The kind that makes you think. That takes the way things are right now in the world, good, bad, or unbelievably stupid, and they question, prod, poke, and make you think about it.

“Sanity may be madness but the maddest of all is to see life as it is and not as it should be.”

Don Quixote

So, what about Sergeant Pepper? Did that make you think about the World today? I know…I know…I can hear you asking now…This is it? This is his Profound Thought today? Sergeant Pepper?

Nope. I’m thinking about the very last bit of what Titus said. “The World’s not coming to an end right now. And I had some hope.” And I thought to myself…Do I have some hope right now? Do the people that I care about have hope? What about the World in general? Do you think there is an abundance of hope in this World?

Now, the cynic in me wants to loudly shout “No! Hope is at an all time low!” and I’m certain that there are lots of people that would agree with that. But is that the truth of it? For some reason, I’m inclined to say no. So, I thought and thought about hope in the World. Let me give some examples…

• Every time a boat full of people throw themselves out into the ocean, in an attempt to reach the US, there is an abundance of hope.
• Every time a group of oppressed people band together in an attempt to make the wrong things right, there is an abundance of hope.
• Every time an abused child, spouse, or person leaves an abuser, there is an abundance of hope.

Now, I’m certain that there will be people pointing to these few examples and saying, “It’s not hope! It’s desperation! They have no other options.” But, I don’t think so. Every desperate choice is fueled by a hope of something better. Hope is the basic underlying belief in any attempt of change, no matter how big or how small.

“Once you choose hope, anything's possible.”

Christopher Reeves

There was a point in my own life where my hope reserves started scraping bottom. I just didn’t have any hope in anything at all. And then, I met someone that helped me to find that small nugget of hope that was hiding inside me. Today, he’s one of my very best friends. He showed me that life without hope is, in truth, no life at all. That all of life is based on hope. Hope for tomorrow, hope for change, hope for love, peace, friendship.

When the world says, "Give up,"
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time.”

Author Unknown

Every time that I look at my sons, I know that familiar surge of hope. I also feel that immense burden of hope. See, I now know that hope is a double-edged sword. Hope is what allows us to carry on in the face of unbelievable trials, to face fear and strife and smile as you make your way through. Hope is also the biggest responsibility we all have to the next generation.

WE are the example that children will live up to. WE are the ones that will teach them how to live. WE are the ones that will show them what it truly means to live with hope. And how can you do that if you don’t know how yourself?

See, hope is what lets us catch a glimpse of the future. Of what could be. Hope facilitates our own personal belief in tomorrow. That is a precious gift that we are compelled to give to our children.
Because what is a World…without hope?

Not someplace that I want my children living in. :-)

And a World with…well…all the hope in the World?

I think Titus sums it up well…

“It’s a park. And there’s a white guy, and a black guy, and an Asian guy, and a Latino guy, and, OK, THAT guy, he’s Canadian. Don’t worry about him; they never affect the World much at all. But, you see what they’re doing, honey? That is called praying. And they are doing it for each other. Your Daddy has never seen this in his lifetime. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe this is the best time for you to be born, cuz that right there, that what it means to be an American. And they’re praying for peace and if we can’t have peace…well, that we destroy the people who screwed up the peace. So we can have peace!”

I’m proud to be living now…in THIS time…in THIS place…on THIS planet. With you. God bless.