Hope. Always Hope

I am trying NOT to write about politics, it gets tedious  to play the same note over and over again.   I will say this and move on.

We are at war, because someone wanted to distract everyone from the crimes he and his administration committed and continue to commit.   Our young people and civilians will die because of his behavior.  We did NOT need to do this, all of a sudden.  There have been no rumbling of war.  Just now.  From that imbecile.  Art of the Deal my Aunt Fanny.  He couldn't find a bargain  at the Dollar Store.

Enough.

I woke up thinking about trying to find hope in the everyday.  I thought of Emily Dickinson's poem, Hope is a thing with wings.   I wonder if it is.  I think hope is more like an earthworm, to tell you the truth.  It hides beneath the surface, only coming into the light under the most extreme circumstances.  Otherwise, we are taught to keep it hidden and in out hearts.  I have been told at times that I am too optimistic about situations.  Frankly, hope is often the only thing that gets me out of bed ( that and a paycheck but that's another blog altogether.)

I was at a meeting last night, feeling very much like Maz from the Star Wars films.  I comfort myself in the knowledge that I am pretty much a lame duck now.  Retirement means I will NOT be working to get another contract and I can just coast on the one that is in place for the next three years.  I listened to people who DON'T understand some basic truths SCREAM at the new guy.  He held his own.   Afterward I had a nice conversation with two of the younger members who gave me hope.  I felt better leaving the meeting after that.  Still , the stupid runs strong with a few of them and I wonder if pointing out the obvious still will not help.  It's going to be interesting and I might not be involved as much as I had been in the past.  We will see.

The title of this piece comes from the play Nicholas Nickleby.   I am NOT a big fan of Dickens, but years ago , the Royal Shakespeare Company put on a marvelous eight hour production of the book.  There were two opposing characters.  One who would begin a scene by writhing on the floor crying NO HOPE  and another who would stand defiantly , fist in the air , declaring HOPE!  ALWAYS HOPE!   I fall somewhere in between them, leaning toward hoping that things will work the way they are meant to.