PEBBLE
Hope is like the sun. If you only believe in it when you can see it, you’ll never make it through the night.
-Leia Organa, shared by Tricia in Cincinnati OH (who loves this line from Star Wars-The Last Jedi, written by Rian Johnson)
BOULDER
When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.
-Harriet Beecher Stowe, shared by Ginger in San Jose, CA
PONDER
As those of us here in the U.S. prepare for Election Day 2022, it’s hard not to feel a certain amount of trepidation, or even dread, about how things are unfolding here and around the world. It helps me to remember that growth is rarely linear, and that contractions are inevitable, especially after periods of progress and forward movement.
It is also important to keep in mind that hope isn’t just helpful in times like these…it’s vital: a vitamin for our soul, a supplement so important to our emotional, spiritual, and even physical health that we would surely wither and die without it.
I get why hope sometimes seems naive: we’ve gotten ourselves trapped in an increasingly fear-based and panic-driven “us versus them” mindset that isn’t going away any time soon. While understandable, and even natural in the short term, this mindset is not helpful for long term survival. Believing that we have to vanquish them, that we can possibly exist as an US that without THEM is an illusion (delusion?); “they” are part of us. Our only chance to create sustainable progress and relative peace on this planet is to recognize the reality that we’re stuck on this island together, with almost no chance of survival until we get back to working together at least some of the time.
I’m quite confident that we will *eventually* figure out a way to come together a little more often and a little more effectively. I think it is going to take some time to get there, and I’m pretty sure we’re in for a bumpy ride in the short term.
I also think our best chance of making it through the night is to light our way with sustainable reserves of patience…and persistence…and a whole lotta hope.
Peace,
Paul
P.S. Vote. Please. The more people that step up, the more likely our government can do the work of the people, by the people, for the people…with the people.
