Defiant Hope

“Again I resume the long
lesson: how small a thing
can be pleasing, how little
in this hard world it takes
to satisfy the mind
and bring it to its rest.”
― Wendell Berry, Sabbaths

“…And we pray, not for new
earth or heaven, but to be quiet
in heart, and in eye clear.
What we need is here.”― Wendell Berry

Five to one, positive to overcome negative.
Watch and guard what you take in.
What you put out.
Thoughts that lead to words to action or inaction.
Vitriol or encouragement?
Enthusiasm or apathy?
Generosity or ego?
Care, optimism, love, gratitude, kindness, peace, joy.
Offer these in abundance, without reserve, overflowing.
Small thoughts, words, acts.
The stuff of transformation and fruition.
A smile, eye to eye contact, reaching out, opening up, letting go.
Hope is strength, not weakness.
It understands reality, the odds, difficulty.
And chooses to respond rather than react.
To give rather than take.
To engage rather than sit idle.
Defiant hope, a powerful act, practice and commitment.
Be defiant daily.

“Hope is not naive, and hope is not an opiate. Hope may be the single greatest act of defiance against a politics of pessimism and against a culture of despair.”― Sharon Brous