Hope

What I want more than anything is for this world to be a kinder place. A more compassionate place. A more understanding place. Where hate and unkindness is not fashionable. Where love and empathy reigns. A world where every life that breathes in its surroundings is worthy of happiness and comfort. Where the word “illegal” cannot be applied to a human being. Where a jail cell is reserved only for those that cannot co-exist peacefully within society. And is governed in a way that provides every possibility for rehabilitation. A world where adults experience joy in the simplest of ways. Where status is determined by heart instead of bank account. A place where people stop to watch the sunset. Where we celebrate the successes of a stranger. And forgive those that stumble. Where we promote values and enact them in all aspects of our lives–not just the ones that are convenient. I wish we lived in a world where name-calling and insult was unacceptable. Where we comforted those who fear. I wish we lived in a place that was better than the world we have created. Where sickness and pain were unimaginable. Where a person’s entitlement to the pursuit of happiness was not determined by birth or race or gender or economic status–but by the simple fact of their existence as a human being. A world where no child goes to bed hungry. Or scared. Or sad. Or anxious. Or depressed. Or feeling unworthy. Where no woman feels less-than. Or inferior to. Or incapable of. Where no man feels like he cannot express sentimentality. Or gentility. Where no one cares about the symmetry of a face. Or the perfection of a photograph. Where desire to love one another is instinctual. I know it’s just a dream. And perhaps a reality like this cannot exist in this world. But oh how I wish that it could.

Today, I am grieving. Grieving for the pain and suffering of the human race. Grieving for a planet where beauty and wonder and pleasure must co-exist with pain and suffering and heartache. Tomorrow, I will try to turn off the grief. To redirect my thoughts to celebration. I will try to contribute something to the world that fulfills my vision of the sort of utopia I long for. And I will fervently pray to the governing energies of the universe to help me achieve at least the tiniest fraction of success. But as for the days that follow tomorrow, I can only hope. And be thankful that I am lucky enough to have that option.

Life. Somedays it is to be celebrated. Some days it is to be mourned. Perhaps on most days, it is both.