We need hope now more than ever. Hope can’t directly stop a war or feed hungry mouths or resuscitate the dead, but to stop hoping is to announce that all that needs hoped for is not worth the effort it takes to sort out the good in a tyrannical world. To stop hoping means we no longer see that there is more love inside ourselves and others than there are diabolical tyrants and ill-willed souls.

As for me, I can’t live that way. No rose-colored glasses, but clear and lucid ones that see hope in a darkness illuminated with the divine spark that is my very essence.
I do not apologize for being optimistic amid the devastation occurring in so many locations throughout our world. I see the suffering and demolition of lives that is ravaging our world. I also feel the compassion burning across the land and seas from the fire of justified anger and relentless hope. Below is my contribution to the hope pool that replenishes daily, repelling the drought of love.

Thanks to all those who’ve encouraged me and loved me from the time I wore diapers to the recent years when my pursuit of writing and healing beaconed a new set of like-minded friends into my circle. Thank you to all those who continue to help me evolve to my core — who help me release worn-out patterns and have faith in rebirthing myself.

To all those who came to me in this life bearing gifts too expansive to fit in a cardboard box or paper bag and too valuable to hoard to myself and not share with the world. Gifts in the form of lessons that make me a more compassionate person, some quickly learned and some still under study. Gifts that can only be wrapped loosely with the ribbon of time and curled with perfection with careful use of the scissors of humility.

Like pebbles holding a flickering candle firm in a vase, my support structure is my inner heart space, fluid yet firm in the passionate belief that hope can never be truly extinguished. Hope burns in the darkest night, under bridges of injustice and towers of misconduct. Under domes of despair and in alleys of neglect.

Hope burns in the very wounds of the injured, abused, and discarded souls. It must. For the internal flame cannot and will not be distinguished by man-made chemicals nor water from the cleanest springs. The very nature of hope is a source unto itself, unfailingly fanning the flame and keeping itself alive. The more it is needed the more the fan spins and awakens the sense that all can be transcended, that all is possible.

Raise your vibration by voicing your gratefulness for the gifts, the lessons, even the hard ones, for without them you stay stuck in the mire of self-pity and continue to crawl through life, never growing the wings you were meant to have. Gratitude powers the fan to high and propels you off the ground where you can influence needed change for yourself and for the world. Fly high and keep your scissors sharp. Learning requires humility and resolve.

Treasure the experiences that reveal your gifts. Polish them with humility and feel your love rays outshining the sun. The gift of love is the most auspicious gift you can receive so accept it graciously and spread it lavishly. The well of love is not capable of running dry.