Keeping Hope Alive
By: Melanie Woodruff

I look around me and see so much sadness, many who are struggling with life in general, and I wonder what I could possibly find to write about.

Write about Hope, Melanie. Tell them about keeping hope alive.

How can I tell them that? So many have lost site of hope, of their dreams. They just see the darkness and feel defeated.

But you know hope is still alive in all of us. It sometimes gets lost amidst all the doubts and fears, but it really is always there. Tell them about that. About reaching within to find their hope.

It sounds so simple, this finding of hope. But am not sure I know how to express it with my words.

I know you can, Melanie. Don’t think about it, trying to analyze something that’s not analyzable can’t be done. Hope can not be analyzed. Just write, don’t think about what you are writing, it will come.

OK. I will give it my best shot. For I know how important it is, having Hope in your life.

Great! I will be quiet now and let you write.

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Keeping Hope Alive:

Over the last year I have seen so many who have lost hope. Since the 9/11 incident especially. They look around and see war, see those suffering having lost loved ones, they hear the bickering going on in the governments, they see intolerance wherever they look and they wonder what it really is all about. They are just biding their time here on earth until they can pass over. Living and yet not living at all. For these people, hope is dead within them. They really do not see anything positive to reach for, to dream of, to live for.

Or is hope dead? I would venture to guess that it really is there, waiting for you to let it out once again. So many times we get caught up in the negatives of life that it is hard to see the positives. Night after night we watch the news, we hear about the killings, the losses, the fighting, and we get caught up in the hopelessness of it all. Then we read the newspaper, and it is the same thing. John Doe found murdered in the back woods, Bob killed his best friend over a dispute about who would pay the bar tab, drunk driver hits bus kills 10. And on and on it goes. Soon we begin to believe that this is an accurate portrayal of what life really is like. (Alcohol, drugs, sex, hate, bitterness, murder, war) But is that really an accurate view of life or is it just a media circus.

Turn your TV’s off, put the paper down, and go out and really witness the real world. That’s where you will re-find your faith. Not that you ever really lost it, it just needs to be rejuvenated.

I think if you really were to watch what goes on around you, you would find many positives. Random acts of kindness are still very much well and alive today. In fact I was a recipient just yesterday of someone’s act of kindness.

I had gone to the doctors again. Having been subjecte to many tests as well as fighting with Pneumonia. So needless to say I was not feeling my best. My car was making a lot of noise when I turned corners but I had put off taking it into the shop. I knew I couldn’t afford a repair bill right now. So I drove the car on a wing and a prayer. As I pulled into the parking lot at Walmart, a gentleman walked over and said he thought I had a power steering problem. As I popped the hood for him he showed me where the power steering fluid goes and checked it for me. Yes it was really low. With a smile and a pat on my shoulder he went on his way. I don’t know if he will ever know what a simple act of kindness did for me that day.

I can hear you saying, well that was only one instance amidst thousands of negative things that must be going on. Right? Wrong! Things like this are happening all the time. They just are the quiet little things that the papers don’t feel are worthy of being printed.

If you want to find hope again find your quiet place. Block out all the negativity that’s coming at you and focus on the positives of this world. There really are many out there. As you wake up each day and prepare to go through your daily routine, stop and think of three things that you are thankful for. You may even want to go one step further and keep a Blessings journal. In doing this you start your day on a positive note. You would be amazed at how many things you have to be thankful for.

As the day progresses and you keep your blessings in mind remember to pass it on. By that I mean, share your smile with another. Or if you see someone struggling with something and its in your power to help them, reach out and lend a hand.

If we all worked on this maybe we could put a dent in the negativity that seems to be trying to take over our world.

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See Melanie, I knew you could do it.

I just hope it made sense.

Of course it did Melanie, it came from your heart. It made perfect sense.

Copyrighted 2002