Gotta Have Hope, right?

I overheard a discussion not long ago and I was amazed at what I heard.  They said, hope is pointless and that it adds nothing to life.  In fact, it was more like if you claimed you had hope, you're were setting yourself up for failure and it wasn't a good thing.

If hope is not a good thing or a valid thing, I cringe at the thought.

If there is no hope, we're all sledding down a rocky hill on our butts!  I'm sorry, but hope gets you through those moments when it feels like there is nothing else left.  It gets you through the times where you've just about given up completely.

Hope is the bungee cord of life.  It is there as something to hold on to and hopefully keep you from going to far.  Maybe hope is a "silly concept" and maybe to some it doesn't hold much value.  I just know from experience, without hope - I would not have made it this far.

When I was paralyzed and nearly dead, the only thing that kept me going was hope - hope for another day that could be better.  When I was actively trying to commit suicide every day, it was hope that helped me find my way back.

When the anxiety attacks and the depression, the horrors and the nightmares filled my waking hours, it was hope that helped keep me going.  When I felt shame and despair and had no self worth to care if another day came and went - it was hope that kept me going.

Sometimes in life, hope is all we have.  When we face moments that are difficult beyond belief, we can't just go in and turn a blind eye to everything.  They are there staring us in the face and trying to zap every last ounce of strength we have.

Hope is what gets us through just a little bit longer so we can see that things change.  Hope is what keeps us going when we feel like there is no tomorrow.  It is there for us to grab on to and asks little in return.

To say that hope is not valid or someone doesn't believe in it, I would only say - just wait until life grabs you so hard and chokes the life out of you.  It will be at that point where hope may be all you have in the moment.

I am saddened when I see people try to enlighten others with nonsense.  When statements are made that try to take away that little moment of all that someone may have, I am incensed by it.

For I know that if I would not have had hope in those very dark moments, I would not have made it this far.  There was little for me to grab on to and I didn't have the strength to go another day.  Hope helped me find my footing long enough for me to literally take another step.

Let's celebrate hope and hold on to it.  Sometimes it is the only lifeline anyone has!

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

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