“Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed. The more unpromising the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper that hope is. Hope is not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” --Vaclav Havel, Disturbing the Peace, Activist, Author and Former Czech President
Here we are, the first day of a new year and last night as I watched the New Year's celebrations, I wondered why all across the world we happily celebrate the passing of one year into another. Is it saying goodbye to the past, a ritual designed to help us let go, something that can be so hard to do? Or is it the feeling of hope, of starting fresh, a beginning, a chance to do better, the excitement of what’s around the corner?
As Havel says in the quote above, hope is more than joy or optimism, it’s for things to turn out well because they are good, they are meaningful and they are worth our efforts, not just because we believe we will succeed. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is our beacon of hope today, in his stand for freedom and independence against all odds. His hope is deep and with it he is able to find the strength to keep going and pull the free world together for his cause. We stand with Ukraine with the hope it prevails, because it is right, it is just and it has meaning.
As we move into 2023, I feel hope that the world will unite for another cause – for our own survival. I hope we will connect with and honor nature, respect animals which are an essential part of our world and care for our precious planet, our home, and the people in it. It’s a big hope, but a meaningful one, that we will realize we truly are “in this together” and that our survival depends upon that idea.
Hope gives us the strength during challenging times, to find new ways, to do good, and to work towards a better and healthy future. I stand with “hope” as we move into 2023. Will you join me?
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