I think of the feeling that comes
when you realize that enough is enough
and finally, you find the courage it takes
to stand up and walk away.

I think about the brilliance and the resilience
and the victory that comes
when you finally decide to push yourself away
and without a word, or without a warning,
you can stand up and walk away
without wondering if anyone notices
or if you made the right choice.

I told you this yesterday
and I’ll say this again,
here and now.
Hope is not the absence of hopelessness
and life is not always the most hopeful place.

So, before we go forward,
I think it pays to be honest
and to allow for a moment of truth.
I think I’ll leave this here
before trying to be the “better one”
or before “acting” like the
one who puts the best foot forward.

This is the book of hope
So then?
What does hope mean?
What does it mean to have hope?

Perhaps I should explain
what this means to me,
in basic terms.

Hope—
is this the film within our mind
which we play
over and over again?
Or does this mean something else?

1

And I hope . . .
I hope that the winds will blow warmly,
and the sun
will shine brightly upon your face.

I hope that the day will be kind
and that the time will move easily,
but not too quickly that we can’t take the time
to soak up the memories
and make something better of this day
or this moment, or this second
by any means
necessary . . .

I watched a movie last night,
which is not a new movie to me
nor is the movie new at all
and to be clear,
the name or the topic of this movie
is not important
at least not more important
than the message behind my posting
nor is the acting or the actors themselves
as important as the message
that I took from this final scene.

I want to go back . . .
I want to think about
the way summer is about to explode
and the first weekend
of the unofficial start of the season takes place
and life was still young enough
to be wild.

It is coming to the time
when sunlight is visible at an earlier hour.
The sunrise is a pretty thing to see in the morning.
And I know that life is still happening.
I know that times can be hard
and there are ideas and thoughts
and feelings
which are less than easy to deal with.

I know this, firsthand.

There are times
when we find ourselves
on colder than usual mornings
and the summer is supposedly
on its way.

But where’s the sun?