The way things are

Real Thanksgiving

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It’s that time of year…

Time for the proverbial “it’s Thanksgiving, so that’s what I’m going to talk about” column…

But I don’t want to do the usual. I kinda want to do the opposite, since I hate doing “the usual.”


We’ll see how that goes now, I suppose…

So, aside from the upcoming holiday, I’ve also been thinking a lot lately about the idea of hope. It’s not a concept new to my mind, though. It’s definitely something that’s entered my consciousness a fair amount.

I’ve noticed through the years that hope is a funny thing. It’s of course, not something tangible or literal. You can’t touch it, or hold it. And yet, it’s something that so often, gives so many people a positive mindset that they’ve been in search of, and are perhaps in need of.

People have problems in their lives. Come on, admit it, you do. Hell, we ALL do. Any person you meet who says they have no problems whatsoever in their life is either lying to you, or is the luckiest person on the planet. And, I’ve not met that person yet, or even come close. We’ve all got problems and issues to contend with, and that’s just part of the deal and part of life.

And of course, sometimes those problems can be somewhat overwhelming, and persistent and constant, more than the average. Enter, hope.

Hope can keep people going, fighting through those difficult circumstances each day. Hoping for a better circumstance, for things to get better, for things to turn around, envisioning that arena of their life the way they want it to be… It can allow people to temporarily escape from their present reality which they don’t like, and give them the push to continue on.

I know what you’re probably thinking… “What a bunch of crap!” And the cynic in me would venture to agree with you, quite frankly. I mean, I’m the first one to comment that wishing for something doesn’t make it so, and burying your head in the sand and ignoring a problem isn’t going to resolve or improve it, and is completely counter-productive to that objective.

But, in this instance, maybe I’m wrong. I think there may be something to this “hope thing.” I mean, just because someone at times utilizes hope and thinks about things as they hope they would be, doesn’t mean that they also don’t take actual action to accomplish that. And I’m certainly not immune to this either. Like everyone else, my life certainly has its hills and valleys, and elements that are less than ideal. And like others, I too at times hope, and think about what could be, and what I hope will be, to push through.

And using hope as a tool to assist us in getting through the rough times and our challenges isn’t a weakness or a sign of giving up …rather, it’s simply using something we have at our disposal to help motivate us and keep going, and having private moments and thoughts to keep ourselves on track and to do what needs to be done, in hopes that the situations we don’t like will get better and right themselves soon.

And just maybe also appreciate the positive things we already have in our lives as well…

Well, I guess I did end up writing a bit of a proverbial Thanksgiving-time column after all.

Whoops.

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”– Albert Einstein

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