As I was leaving the cafe here in almost always dampy-misty-drizzly Ireland, I first held open the door for an elderly lady.
She smiled up at me as she walked into the dreary outside and said, “Here’s hoping the rain stops soon and we get a burst of precious sunshine.”
I smiled back at her and nodded. But inside my head was surprised. I thought a bit cynically, “Man, that lady must’ve been around for at least seventy years. She should be used to this perpetually grey weather…
…how funny she’s still making comments about hoping for sun.”
The lady at the café is like most of my Irish friends and acquaintances. They who keep, as they will tell you, “getting on with it.” They who continue to take care of business, their families and their lives. One eye turned upward in hope of a glimpse of precious sun.
I am certain we have all had our share of emotional rain. This year, in particular, with so many deadly shootings and terrorist attacks across the globe, it’s not overstating it to bemoan that we have endured more than our share.
And yet, there’s still hope.
Just a couple of days ago, as it began to roll out its holiday “year-ender” pieces,The New York Times took a moment to reflect on some of the brighter moments in 2015 in an expression of hope for sanguine things yet to come.
So no. The lady’s sentiment was not funny at all. After I considered that encounter a little longer, I realize hers is only way to be. Unceasingly hopeful.
Simple hope is not enough, of course. We also have to take positive steps toward realizing the benefits that the vision of hope plants within us.
What are you hoping for? Great. Now in 2016, what are you going TO DO about it? What active steps? Incremental successes toward a defined goal. Now is the time to begin. To achieve what you hope for.
No matter how much rain, we must remain hopeful that the sun is around the bend.
You know the saying,
You can’t have a rainbow without first some rain.
It seems especially true to me leaving here in Ireland. The land of rain. The land of rainbows.
Here’s to a 2016 full of hope and positive action!
Copyright 2015 Gina London. All Rights Reserved.
