hope and love

I don't know if I am disgusted or pissed off or maybe just confused, but whatever it is I need a break from it soon. Maybe I think too much, or maybe I care too much, or maybe I've completely lost the last marble that was playing wall ball in my head. Regardless, I am in thought regarding the state of our world, specifically as it relates to the community. I think of it globally but it has to start locally so we should start this chat there.

I am constantly at battle with the idea that we are capable of so much more but only able to see to the end of our own noses. As we passed Valentine's Day, I was struck with the notion that there is some love out there but it seems to be isolated and spotty at best. I certainly want to believe we are capable of more but certain signs continue to point to a contradiction. So much of our concept of love seems to be wrapped up in who we are that we often forget what everyone else thinks. Does that seem impossible to fathom? Probably not, but I would suggest that we have not truly thought it through all the way.

I am of the belief that love is very deliberate and that falling into it is not really possible. I heard someone suggest a similar view today and it occurred to me how I feel about the topic. I could tear off into the definitions of love but instead, let me say this; we are all capable of love on some level. The real question is when are we going to show it? This world seems like a big game of poker and instead of showing our hands we keep bluffing and upping the ante. The real problem here is there are a lot of people playing this game and trust me when I say, the stakes are high, and there are going to be a lot of losers if we keep going like this.

Currently there is a division in this world that is thick enough to touch and it is getting worse. Opinions are flying in the face of facts and going unchecked. In the midst of this, love is being trampled like a city slicker in Pamplona and everyone seems to be cheering. Even those who claim to be in agreement with each other have abandoned love and seem to be clinging to appeasement. There is no community and certainly no love in too many of the public venues that we witness today.

Enter hope on the scene. While it is scarce and sometimes very quiet it is most certainly in the house. What we know of hope is it's like a 3 hour car ride in a booster seat knowing there's ice cream waiting at the other end. My son will tell you that Hope is his cousin but even he knows that hope is also the start of baseball season, sunshine filled days that are warm enough to wear shorts and trips to the beach.

I can't say enough about some of the cool people I continue to meet who regularly give me hope that there is more out there than just this stale fear of death. I have hope of so many things but it is life that fills me most. I live each day not as if it's my last but instead as a chance to be a positive force in spite of all that is against hope. My community needs it and yours does too; we need hope and love, not accomplishment and entitlement. 

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My life is not mine, and yet it is mine to live for Him. Peace to you all.

D