Rudyard Harrison, Heldervue
“Hope springs eternal in the human breast”
– Alexander Pope
Hope is a scarce commodity. It is difficult to keep a small spark of hope alive in the midst of the darkness that threatens to overwhelm us at present. All the more reason to select our sources of hope with great care.
It is wise to look for signs of hope in the real world. Building castles in the air is dangerous. Religion urges us to place our hope in the life hereafter but the only life that is tangible is the present one. Even in our scary political landscape, there are good men and women on whom we can rely.
There are still excellent educators within the caldron of our educational system. There are fine doctors in our health care system, despite many having left for greener pastures.
When we have been divorced or retrenched, when we have relocated, when our children have flown the coop, when we are sick or dying, hope can be found in facing reality squarely and accepting proffered helping hands.
Being told that my mother, who died at a young age, is safe in the hereafter provides me with little hope or comfort.
Sharing my pain, while looking into the eyes of another caring fellow traveller, ignites a spark of hope. I am buoyed by the awareness that we are all in this together.
It is cruel to offer someone false hope; it used to be called “pie in the sky when you die”.
The provision of realistic hope, based in the everyday world of experience, is no small thing. All that I want to hear when I am struggling is; “you will not have to handle this on your own.”