In the Absence of Hope

Once upon a time there was a little girl who had big dreams. 

And then, she grew up. 

Life. 

Did you realize LIFE is a four letter word? Doesn't mean it always has bad connotations, but in life bad things can and do happen. 

As the Beatles so wisely sang all those years ago, "You may say I'm a dreamer, But I'm not the only one." Or, as Hamlet struggled with the question of whether with all the problems life was worth continuing or if facing the unknown of death were a better choice. "To sleep, perchance to dream."

We all are born with the ability to dream, to imagine how things could be, to long for circumstances, and to work toward those dreams becoming a reality. Everyone has the chance to at least see some of their dreams come to pass. And, this fulfillment of the hope of the dream causes us to dare to dream again. 

You may say I'm a dreamer. 

I don't think I would say I live with my head in the clouds. My feet are firmly planted on the ground, but I still dream. I still look ahead at all the possibilities and I still believe good things can and will come. 

I have had so many of my dreams dashed on the rocky shores of life. But, some have survived. Some have filled my life with joy and contentment. Some have brought me more happiness than I ever imagined possible. 

Life. 

Contained within those mere four letters is power. And possibility. Hope. And despair. Joy. And grief. 

Life. 

Every single day we rise with an armload of possibilities. We may spend each day in predictable sameness, or we may discover amazing moments every single day. 

Once upon a time there was a little girl who had big dreams. 

Dreams of love, happiness, stability, and warmth. 

And then, she grew up. 

And life happened. 

Standing on the rocky shores of life, gazing at the amass of dashed and broken dreams, she feels a heaviness in her heart. 

That heaviness is called hopelessness. 

It is a weight that will crush and destroy without a second thought. It takes and never gives back. It blocks the sunshine, banishes growth, and obliterates happiness. 

And, as I have lain awake looking into the darkness, searching for my dreams, it has visited me, taunting me with the memory of past dreams that met their death. 

And covering me with the suffocating knowledge of....LIFE

Life happens every day. It continues to happen even when yours is finished. 

And it continues to offer choices. And the chance to dream. 

So, I close my eyes today against the power of hopelessness, and behind my closed lids I see the light of promise. 

I refuse to stop. 

Once upon a time there was a not so young lady who had big dreams. 

And life happened. And dreams died. 

So she rose in the early dawn surrounded by the stench of their deaths and planted.....

She planted dreams on the shores of hopelessness. 

And on those rocky shores some of those planted dreams died before they ever had a chance to sprout. 

And yet, if she looks closely, she see buds springing forth. She sees dreams rising amongst the ruins of yesterday. 

And she smiles.