Making the Choice to See the Hope
Reflections for June 7, 2020
See the Hope
The scenes I always loved and embraced were playing out around me. A father and son sitting together on the pier, quietly fishing. A man slipped his canoe into the edge of the lake to paddle out into the mirrored calm. A family unloaded toys, seats, and coolers to enjoy a day on the water. Traffic seemed to run slower in the moment, allowing the sounds of nature to have the center stage.
The play unfolding before me reminded me of a time I loved. You could walk along the banks of the lake without worrying about Canadian geese that had gone native and resembled the aggressiveness of wet cats determined to ruin your day. It brought back a time when nature surrounded man instead of man crowding out nature. It engulfed me in a refreshing calm that I often encountered in the back corner of the property along the creek.
In the middle of town, things didn’t always seem so calming. Although I grew up being able to ride my horse along the lake, now I often wondered about being able to walk without running the risk of being run over by cars, or people, or both.
Time changed things. More houses moved in to enjoy the blessings of nature. Even the location where I currently sit to enjoy the scenes of the past that I love comes at the expense of lost green space. Time turns, time twists, and it all keeps spinning around. The spinning provides the illusion of loss.
The moments aren’t lost. They are clothed in different circumstances. New light casts over them. Not everyone can see them – not everyone wants to see them – but even when they were the loved scenes of the past, some people still never saw them.
It has been said that you will find what you are looking for. I never wanted the change that has been occurring around me. I wanted to have the peace and the calm and the quiet of the scenes I loved. Instead, I got bursting fireworks and loud music. I saw the harshness of man crushing the delicate balance of nature.
A moment of forced refocus has allowed me to see more. I saw how the osprey nests found homes in the top of the stadium lights, how the blue herons settled into perches along the piers, and how the martins made homes in the heights of the buildings.
The more I dared to look, the more I saw – maybe not the exact moments of those times gone by, but close enough to calm my soul.
The option always remains to see the problems, but the opportunity also exists to see the hope. One of the visions will change the world.
Dare to See the Hope
- The more you determine to see hope, the more hope sets root in your heart. The more hope roots in you, the more you are positioned to change your world.
- Avoid comparing now with then (or then with now). Each moment offers its unique qualities and blessings. If you try to look at this moment through the vision of another time, then it will seem clouded and out of focus. See now for now, and you will begin to see the blessings it has to offer.
- Dare to see beyond your expectations. Choose to see beyond what you know. Allow the moment to embrace you, and you will begin to embrace the moment. Once you embrace the moment, then the possibilities abound.
- Allow for the unexpected (and maybe even the unwanted). Things will happen – yes, even things you didn’t expect or didn’t want – but there is something to gain no matter what is going on if you are willing to allow for the moment and lean into it and learn through it.
Nothing changes until something changes, and nothing comes of the changes until you are open to the hope they bring. Make today the day you dare to see the hope, and you will find that hope makes all things possible.
Focus to Break the Darkness
The more you grow encouragement the more light you let into your life. The more light in your life, the easier it becomes to break the darkness.
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