We all have hope, or at least in some period of our life we had hope. As children we sang about it. Remember the little ant that had high hope? The song sent a message at an early age that we should never give up hope. But, as much as we should always hope for the best, we cannot depend on hope alone to solve our problems. Hope is a reactive way of thinking. We hope that things will occur to our liking and then we sit back and wait to see if our hopes will come true. If the hopes do not come to pass, many of us are too quick to say that perhaps it just was not meant to be.
When it comes to many of the problems we find ourselves in today, hope should certainly be a word that is often used. But along with those hopes, we also have to take actions as a society that will reinforce the findings that we all hope for. I have heard so many people say that they hope that we never have another event such as the events of 9-11. I would also join the ranks of those who have those hopes. But, to hope for this is not enough. We must formulate ourselves from simply a reactive way of thinking into a proactive way of thinking. In other words, we hope that we never have another 9-11 and here is what we must do to make sure that it does not happen. Some people have become a bit apathetic with our nation's safety since 9-11. Commenting that we have not had another attack; some people are less concerned than they were on September 12th. As much as we are relieved and thankful, never believe that the lack of additional attacks is based on hope. Quite the contrary, it is based on quick actions that were put into place and then kept in place, that have caused another attack to be more difficult than the first one. While our plans have been good ones, we must not fall into a false sense of security and hang our nation's future on hoping that it never happens again.
"I hope that my kids turn out right." Have you heard that one? How many of us do not hope for the same thing. But, would you ever put all of your eggs into a hope basket and feel comfortable with the eventual outcome? You hope that your kids turn out okay and then devise a plan to ensure that they turn out okay. All plans are subject to failure. However, no plan makes failure a certainty. After watching one child after another fall by the way side, I simply hope that parent's will one day wake up and realize that their children are their responsibility long after the cutting of the umbilical cord.
A popular New Year's toast is "Here is to hoping that you have a healthy New Year". It is hard to take a toast like this seriously, even if you hope that it is true, if you are guzzling alcohol like crazy and then get into a car and drive home. Your hope at that point should be that you just do not kill someone else, much less yourself. Hoping for good health is like an Eskimo hoping for central heat. Hope alone will not make it happen. Having a plan of eating well, exercising, and getting plenty of rest will be the ingredients for a year of good health. I hope that you know that.
Hoping that all people will one day get along as a nation is a good one. But, hoping for that as opposed to doing something about it is a bit of a weak effort. Maybe we should try to cut the ropes of generational racism and bigotry. How about getting rid of a bunch of tired old politicians and race mockers, that use race as a way to make a living? For some of these folks, they will have nothing to do if we all got along. I hope that they know who they are. Most of us do!
Hope is a nice little four letter word that brings a smile to our face as we think about those things that would occur if hope should prevail. But, by depending on hope alone and not taking actions that will actually make your hopes come true, most typically you will resort to simply using a variety of other four letter words that cause anything but smiles.
Here is to hoping that everything goes your way. Just do not depend on me. Go out and actually make everything go your way. You can do it. At least, I hope you will try.
Tuesday
May 13th, 2025
12:45AM
