Tom Bodett, author, NPR essayist, and if that doesn’t ring a bell, you may know him as the Motel 6 spokesman has said: “They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.”
That sounds right to me too. Something to hope for keeps popping up so I decided to share a few things that we might not always connect with being hopeful to remind us that the day-to-day things help us keep hope alive and well.
My good friend Teresa Cleveland reminds me that gardening is an expression of hope. Planting seeds, hoping for the right about of sunshine and rain and the right temperatures are all required to get to the blooms or the harvest. If you’ve planted something in the past, or are getting ready to, remember that you are embodying what it means to be hopeful.
One of my favorite Dolly Parton songs has lyrics that say “I can see the light of the clear blue morning and everything’s going to be alright, it’s going to be okay.” A new sunrise, a new day, the cycle of life reminds us that nothing stays the same – so if things feel dark now and then, remember it won’t’ always be so.
Belonging, be part of communities - organizing to solve problems, choosing to pull together – that’s incredibly hopeful to me. When we do that,we are saying individually and as a group, I believe things can be better and if you’re involved it’s also choosing to be part of the solution. Action always boosts our hope.
Lots of life experiences remind us that hope helps. Things like surviving chemo and the day comes when you wake up feeling a little bit better, being the new kid in school – I did this a few times and having someone invite your to sit with them at lunch, getting the promotion you’ve worked hard for and even a setback like not winning a big game but knowing you did your best - lots of things remind us that today can be better than yesterday and tomorrow can be better than today.
I hope you’ll find a few of your own version of “something to hope for” - here’s to a great day and an even better tomorrow.
