Finite Disappointment, Infinite Hope

"We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope." - Martin Luther King, Jr 

" "Hope" is the thing with feathers - / That perches in the soul - / And sings the tune without the words - / And never stops - at all -"     - Emily Dickinson

It's difficult to refrain from wailing and railing against the malevolent forces at work, but sound and fury are not helping me. The best advice I've heard in the five days since election results destabilized our country was to express gratitude for the men and women who sought to protect dignity and equality of all people.  We don't do this enough and risk those people feeling alienated and unappreciated.

Inspired, I wrote the following text to my family:

"As we come to the end of this crazy week, I want to say how grateful I am for all of you. For your support of equality for all people, your moral compass, your intelligence and integrity. Most of all, kids, I am grateful for your father, who teaches his sons a masculinity that isn't threatened by women and treats them as equals, and who shows his daughter how to be strong and self-sufficient. You are all worthy of strong and true partners like your father is to me. Let's continue to look out for people who are not as fortunate and realize that a better world for them is a better world for all of us. Love,  Mom."

Hope, I've heard, is not a strategy, but it is a fuel. I don't know and can't predict the future, but I hope that good things (currently hidden in the shadows) await us, and that we can resist hate and anger to work toward achieving those good things. May you all be well, and thank you for your efforts to contribute light, dignity and hope to the world.