Hopes and Opportunities

Today, I am sharing an essay from my book, Dear Teachers, which is available at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. From the beautiful pictures of Marlene Oswald, I wrote messages to educators of my own life struggles and understandings in the hopes that they might help others in their own. I made writing space for the reader to connect because I think we all have things to share- we’re together.

Hope

Sometimes, I open my eyes in the morning feeling more tired than when I closed them the night before. My feet ache, my ankles crack and my knees pop as I stumble down the hall, seeking the healing warmth that is my morning joe.

I hear Time ticking. It all reminds me that nothing lasts forever. I can no more forever hold back the ravages of time as I can see the universe in a single glance. But I can be OK with that. I can still have hope and take opportunities.

Hope is feeling an empty page is an opportunity for a new tale or seeing a barren field as tomorrow’s harvest. Hope is what powers that step off the porch for the last time, turning our backs on one dream to begin a journey toward another. There can be more.

Both the veteran educator and the newbie can fall short. Whatever the cause, reality sometimes strips us bare despite our best efforts and plans. Yet, we can still have hope. We can take another chance.

We must remember a truth of all human life: what we have built will stand in some way, shape or form. What we’ve even tried to build will live on in another’s memory or their future discovery. The rusted fence may no longer hold back the wilds of nature or retain the builder’s fortunes, but it still stands. It is. It can be. Something. The life-giving windmill still sings a song, although today it may be a completely different tune and to an entirely different listener. It just needs an ear to hear it.

There is always pain. There is always discord. Yet, there is also always hope and opportunity.

Reflections on Hope: Who, what and where are my own hopes and my opportunities?