We can never give up hope...

[armyowalgreens]

I've been doing a lot of off-and-on reflecting tonight. Mostly on my life and my own struggles.

For over 2 years now, I've been dealing with fairly significant health problems, both physical and mental, that have brought me to the brink of collapse on more than one occasion. 3 days ago I found out that we may have found the source for most of my medical problems. Only time will tell if the doctors are correct. While I am optimistic, I am prepared if this is only the beginning.

But I've gained a sense of hope that I haven't felt in my life for quite some time. And it frightened me when I realized that I have lived so long without that optimism.

Call it naivety. Call it whatever you'd like. But it helped bring color to the world and warmth to humanity around me.

Without it, I have turned quite dark and miserable. I wonder how this has affected the thousands upon thousands of person I've interacted with for so long.


I think a lot of people have lost their hope. And frankly, I don't blame them. The weight of the world is pressing down on us every day and it seems that optimism is being traded in for a hardened, pessimistic shell.


But pessimism, while safe and protective, destroys the beauty of the world. It breaks down our curious wonder that truly makes us human. It reduces us to actions and reactions. I once wrote in a poem that "my heart beats and my lungs inhale but I am not alive". That sums up the way I have lived my life for years and I think it represents many others.


The world can be such an unrelenting nightmare. But I think our tiny blue planet would feel much warmer and comforting if humans would let themselves be vulnerable and happy.

I'm reminded of the words of Charlie Chaplin:

"Greed has poisoned men's souls -
has barricaded the world with hate;
has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.

We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in:
machinery that gives abundance has left us in want.
Our knowledge has made us cynical,
our cleverness hard and unkind.
We think too much and feel too little:
More than machinery we need humanity;
More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness."



Goodnight everybody. I'll catch you on the flip side.