Light And Hope

I am an idealist, dreamer, romantic, and eternal optimist. This all sounds wonderful but such attitudes often leave me disappointed with people and life. Most of life is very ordinary and mundane. I strive to put meaning into everything but sometimes life is just stuff I got to do or people I must endure. The good news is that even the most humdrum day has moments when the light is shining and life seems good. I try to be awake and aware enough to notice such moments. It can be sunlight after days of rain and overcast skies. It can be the smile of a co-worker, the laughter of a friend, or the joy my granddaughter brings me. It can be one of those hidden moments where everything seems perfect if only for a second. Although some people seem lucky and everything appears to go their way, for most of us life is work. Sometimes I am tired and weary. I have been getting out of bed or leaving my couch to go to work for 46 years. My first job in high school was bagging groceries in a mom and pop grocery store. I am nearly 39 years into a marriage and 35 years into parenthood. Here’s a spoiler alert for those of you with young children: Parenthood never ends as long as you are alive. The good news is that most of us receive enough goodness in our lives that the struggles do not overwhelm us. No matter how weary we may feel, no matter how dark life may seem, no matter how overwhelming it may feel, there is always light and there is always hope. As one of my favorite rock bands, the Grateful Dead, once sang, “Sometime you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right”.