Letter From The Editor: Hope

Hope

– By James McFadden –

It’s been a minute since I’ve sat down to put my thoughts on paper. I’ve always tried to make it a point to be optimistic and uplifting in everything I do by taking the old adage, ‘If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all’ to heart. As I look around us today, this is becoming very difficult. Not impossible, but very difficult.

Today, the negative energy that is bombarding us is almost insurmountable. Cancel this, cancel that; tear this down, tear that down seem to be the flavors of the day… Constructive criticism has turned into destructive criticism, and in many ways, it feels like all we’re seeing is condescension, haughtiness, intolerance, and a total lack of civility. I don’t know about you, but to be honest, it’s breaking my heart and crushing my soul. I think because I don’t see these things ending anytime soon.

We as a nation, as a society, and as a world family are hurting, and, in many ways, I suppose we need to go through this to get through it. I’m reminded of one of my favorite song lyrics: ‘If you’re goin’ through hell, keep on going. Don’t slow down if you’re scared, don’t show it. You might get out before the devil even knows you’re there.’ – I know, easier said than done.

For me, it has always come down to and starts with family; but even that is under attack and full of potholes that need to be carefully navigated. Which is why it’s so critical we fight through all of this heartache, double down, and push through our pain because if we don’t, we’re truly going to feel lost and powerless.

Hope is a fickle beast right now, but in all of the rhetoric, hope is what we need to start cultivating and embracing right this very minute so we don’t ultimately find ourselves stuck at the bottom of a well with no hope of climbing out.

In many ways, I think we’re all climbing a mountain right now. Each of us, on our own, climbing our own little mountains, but frankly… we’re not – in all reality, I believe, we’re all climbing the exact same mountain, but we’re all so far apart from one another that it FEELS like we’re alone on our own cold dark, scary mountain. But we’re not… And we really do need to get back to when we were helping each other navigate the cliffs, the rocks, and the crevasses.

I don’t believe hope has abandoned us, so somehow, in all of this madness, we need to find the strength to embrace hope, we simply can’t afford to abandon hope, or we’re doomed to a fate we can’t control.

So maybe this is a call to arms, not just for the world but even for myself, personally; because this is how I’ve been feeling, and I know I’m not alone. I still believe we can come together, we can still lift one another, and we can figure all of this out, but we have GOT to do it TOGETHER. The days of figuring it all out on our own have passed. It’s time for us all to get back out there and do something good for others. Find a way to push through our fear and bring a little hope back into the world.

Note: The following has been added since our June issue went to print…

We need to stop pointing fingers at others or trying to blame those we feel are bringing us to the brink of destruction. It’s time we start cultivating an open dialog with those we may not completely agree with so we can better understand what others are going through. None of us experience this world or see it the same way as others do. There might be some similarities in our experiences, but our interpretations and understandings are all very unique, from our own unique perspectives, so we have no business judging those with whom we may disagree with. If we continue down this path, we will never see progress, and we will never grow as the human family we are…

What do you say, are you with me? Are you ready to be a part of the solution, or are you content to sit there and be an extension of the already insurmountable problems we as a human race are currently facing?

I certainly don’t feel like I personally have the answers. I can’t imagine one person, group, or political party for that matter has any idea how to solve the issues that are currently plaguing us, so the only path I see to healing and progress is if we can find a way to come together and talk about them in a respectful, civil, constructive way.

I, for one, would like to believe that is still an option and still possible… What do you think?

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