whenever one door closes, i hope one more opens.

doors

holes in walls the offer us a way out or a way in.

just putting your hand on the knob and seeing if it turns can make you weak in the knees.

what if it's locked?

what if it's unlocked?

what if no one answers?

what if someone does?

what if the hinges creak and the heavy wood swings open

and you're suddenly standing at the threshold of a brand new tomorrow?

what if your horizon is nothing but blue clear skies?

what if it's a raging storm?

what if?

what if?

w h a t i f ?

i hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean.

if you're ever lying on a beach with

80 billion grains of sand beneath you,

700 thousand ocean waves before you,

60 million stars stretch out above you,

and you're still not at all impressed,

i want you to think about this:

the light you see reflecting from the stars is over one million years old.

wow.

but then, just before you start to feel like a mere blimp

in the gigantic scheme of things,

please remember this:

yes, you are small,

but you're also irreplaceable

and invaluable

and miraculous.

those stars don't have anything on you.

god forbid love ever leave you empty-handed.

but if it does,

may it leave you

patient and stronger,

willing and wiser,

tender and tougher.

may you never take one single breath for granted.

so breathe out and breathe in

and soak it all up

you get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger.

hunger is the wanting:

to see more

to feel more

to touch more

to crave, to desire, search out, find, hold more.

and sometimes hunger hurts more.

but go on, go west, young man, young woman.

plow the land,

plant the seeds,

grow the food for the whole wide world.

i hope you never lose your sense of wonder.

what is hope?

to want? to desire?
to expect that what's envisioned may indeed happen?
yes to all of the above.
is hope that gut feeling that it's worth holding out a little longer?
absolutely.
is hope the core of the human condition?
certainly.
can you have hope without faith and humility and wonder?
that's tough.
just the thought that there's something bigger, something truer, something totally surprising out there waiting for us is...
priceless.

what would you be without hope growing deep in your bones, thriving in every inch of you?
NOTHING.

what does it take to hope?
EVERYTHING.



hope takes never ceasing
to be amazed...

wearing
your soul on your sleeve...

holding
your breath, waiting to hear
"i love you, too..."

believing
that tomorrow could be better than today...
that you'll get a second chance...
that you'll make a difference...
that you matter.

i hope you dance.

okay, so i'm doing something new with hope. for the next few blog posts. it's going to be a "series." i know...exciting, right? i should be updating daily, so check back regularly for the next post. i hope you all like it. the inspiration is from a book my grandparents gave me that was inspired by the song "i hope you dance." so thank you to mark sanders and tia sillers for your beautiful words.

take these words to heart. think about them. learn from them. let them inspire you like they have me.

love, meg.