Dear Friend,
Ah, the memories of the start of this year! Such enthusiasm we had about a new beginning and a fresh start! It seemed as the year began everything seemed to be going our way. It was a wonderful time. There were so many plans and goals to look forward to, but then this thing called COVID set in.
We watched as the world completely flipped upside down. Everything routine and normal in life were taken away. Nearly everything was shut down and the battle of the TP took place. I lost the chance of a break in my routine and you lost the chance of keeping your routine. We had to learn to live with ourselves as well as those in our home 24/7. I know that can be a great struggle sometimes. Not being able to do what you used to do drove you crazy, and not being able to do something different wasn't much easier.
It all seemed to progress from bad to worse as time went on. There were the earthquakes to start it all off. The unrest and civil disorder joined in. The natural disasters continued to come. The economy plummeted and the job loss rose steeply. Family relationships were strained, and mental illness issues increased. Then there's that thing called politics to add into the mix, and it all looks like a full tragic disaster.
The burden of this all has weighed down on me, and I know it's weighed down on you. It has felt many times that my favorite topic of hope no longer has meaning, that it's been extinguished. Perhaps you might think it's naïve of me, but there's a part of me that refuses to accept that. I think hope is still well and alive. I picture it as being a quiet thing like I am. It gets shouted over from all of the loud things, and because of that distraction often gets overlooked. I promise you that if you pay close attention and observe, standing before you among all of those loud shouting voices is that hope you want. Pay attention to it and give it a turn to speak. As you listen, you will find the message simple, but in that simplicity great power. Hope is there. Find it. Listen to it. Heed it.
As a sort of a side note, I wanted to mention something about that lamp in my room. The other morning, I found it on again. It's been turning on a lot lately, mostly during the night, but sometimes will turn on several times in the day. I still have no idea what's been turning it on, but it doesn't bother me anymore. It's become a sort of messenger to me lately. Now every time I see it turned on, I'm reminded of several things, hope included. It's a reminder to me to always look to the light and let it direct my paths. That morning when I found it on, I got that feeling again, you know the one I had a year ago when I had that happen to me beneath another lighted lamp. I remembered that day how I saw everyone and that incredible feeling of love that overcame me. Well, this time it dawned on me--I don't know why I never thought about it before--that I was included in that group of people. That day I decided to keep the lamp on a little longer and not be so urgent to turn it off, because you know as much as everyone else I need to remember that also. Knowing that helps me hold on to that hope.
Hope is eternal, despite all efforts the dark things in this world make to destroy it. In the darkest and thickest conditions it may do so much as make the visibility difficult, but it is there nevertheless. We can face this no matter what happens. We will survive this, and survive this we will with full vigor and valor. Misery will not bind us. We will move forward!
Missing you,
Me
P.S. Chin up. The sun is still shining on a rainy day.
