Hope

"While there's life, there's hope." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

To the quiet child who gets overlooked, because she’s not assertive enough.

To the girl who fears God, because she was led to believe that He will punish her for any little mistake.

To the young lady who walks with her head down because she feels unworthy to meet the gaze of others.

To the student whose heart pounds and brow sweats in fear of being asked a question in class, not because she does not know the answer, but because everyone would be looking at her.

To the teen that is afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing and evoking laughter from her peers.

To the youth, who tries to smile when adults say, “You’re just shy”, making it sound like it is not a big deal.

To the adult who has anxiety attacks before work because her low self-esteem and insecurities have followed her from childhood.

You are fortunate. Your quiet, sensitive nature has presented you the opportunity to observe, absorb and empathize with your world.

You may not be the one to command attention, but you can study those around you, discover their strengths and weaknesses, and understand that all are human, with their pride and their doubts.

You are capable of deducing what is fair and what is not. That not everything you are told is truth and that following your own truth is what will lead to happiness.

You have the capacity to see the diversity of mankind, to empathize, and realize that everyone is worthy, including you.

You can force yourself to be strong enough to accept that others do want to hear what you have to say.

You have the ability to understand that not all ideas are the best ideas, but that your input is just as valuable as any other.

You know that you have your challenges, and so does everyone else. There are no perfect people. We all need help from time to time, and that is a good thing. It keeps us humble. It keeps us connected.

Most importantly, you are capable of forgiving yourself for your perceived flaws, and understanding that perception is relative. Your flaws, as well as your talents, make you who you are.

You are unique. Special.  Valuable. Loved. The world is different because you are in it...because I am in it.

Our possibilities are endless.

This post is part of a Hope relay. As we celebrate the Olympics, Melanie Crutchfield had the fabulous idea to pass the torch of “Hope” around the blogging community. The idea being that she has asked some fabulous folks to write about Hope, and then we ask some more fabulous folks to write about Hope and before you know it, Hope is spreading around the blogging community! Melanie is going to compile all of the posts she can at the end of the Olympics and host her own version of the closing ceremonies.

I invite any and all of you to write on the topic of Hope, but I am officially passing the baton of Hope to my followers. I hope that you will each choose to write your own stories of Hope, because I gather a lot of Hope from all of you.