Hope

December 17th, 2014

Hope. It IS a fitting topic for this time of year. Hope is often knitted with the thought that good things will happen in one's future. This morning, Anne Lamott once again graced my newsfeed with just about the best definition of hope I've ever come across. She said:

Hope is not based on circumstances. It is based on paying attention.

Paying attention. Who would've thought. It's not about sitting around and doing a lot of hand-wringing, just looking for something good to happen. It's about taking the time to look around a see what is already happening. Anne's post taught me that I hold hope in my hands everyday. There is hope in the huge bag of Christmas gifts for two little girls that I'm dragging to Organic Market today for the Christmas Wishes program they sponsor for Cape Families. There is hope in the bag of food I place in our food pantry box in my club. There is hope when I reach up and move the press arm for an elderly person who made the effort to get to the club and begin an exercise program, even if they are not as nimble as they used to be. Anne also told me that though I hold hope in my hands everyday, I can't receive hope if I don't give away that which I hold.

A wonderful concept in which to view hope this holiday season. Pay attention today. How many times will you hold hope in your hands and give it away? My daughter Erin is a teacher, and having spent 35 years in a classroom myself, I can just picture her gentle touch on a little one's shoulder today for encouragement. If she pays attention, she will hold and give away a ton of hope in the next 8 hours. Maybe my Boston daughter, Ashley, will let a mother struggling with young children in line in a shop go before her. Maybe my husband will give a sympathetic ear to an employee trying to make ends meet this holiday season or have the need for time off for a family situation. And that's just the hope that could be given away today in my family. When I think of you and all the people in your family, I just imagine the mountain of hope that will be bestowed today. And to see it, all you have to do is pay attention.

And so, as another day goes by, once again I thank Anne Lamott for uncovering the simple truths in our lives, and…I have written.