HOPE. What a great four-letter word that I often tend not to use in my vocabulary. I’m sitting back in my bungalow in Wilmington, North Carolina. I hear the fierce wind blowing the dying leaves off the trees within my beloved neighborhood, Carolina Place. I feel the intense pressure of the implementing hurricane on the eve of “THE ELECTION”. Yet, I find HOPE. Yep, even in this year of 2020, I feel HOPE.
It is not like this year has been a joyful celebration for me; my tour, Live Well Die Well, ended five states shy of completion, my best friend had open heart surgery, my father was diagnosed with leukemia, my seven month old niece contracted COVID-19 at her daycare, and I was unemployed for the first time in my life. The uncertainty I found myself in was overwhelming…. YET, I FELT HOPEFUL. I STILL FEEL HOPEFUL.
What has happened in this crazy year is that I found time to pause, to reflect, to awaken, to realized how important connection is in my life, to laugh even during hard times, to love and to show up for those that matter most. It brings me back when I decided to end my 49-state driving tour on state 46, I was devastated. As I traveled from Portland, Oregon back to Raleigh, North Carolina I felt like a complete failure. I was broken, sad, a little depressed about what I sacrificed financially, spiritually, and physically had all came to an end prior to the successful completion. I found myself looking down. And I cried a lot, especially when I was alone. I had failed.
On the eve of the most controversial election in my lifetime, I finally look up and I see so much to be grateful for within my life. I ask myself what is my role in the eye of this storm? Because no matter the outcome of the election tomorrow close to 50% of the population will be disappointed. How can I embrace others when I can’t touch them? Maybe I can smile, maybe I can pray for them. We must all realize if we are not contributing in a positive way toward our brothers and sisters, maybe we are the problem. We must take personal responsibility for our own contribution as we move forward.
We must trust in something BIGGER than us. For me, that is my FAITH. What is it for you?I HOPE you choose a new four-letter word to describe 2020. If we collectively make a conscious decision to own our part, maybe we have a chance to change the world which is not based on the outcome of an election, but the outcome of our own choices. This is my HOPE.