I am fascinated by hope. It intrigues me that some are inherently hopeful, while others not so much. I don’t think I am a hopeful person per se, but I am also not one of immediate doom and gloom either. I usually try to maintain a realist approach to life. Expect the best, prepare for the worst. Maybe that is why I am drawn to this feeling some can exude so well. It’s not blind optimism, but the ability to stay hopeful in the midst of hardship. And let’s be honest, sometimes that is really hard to do, especially right now!

Today is the 250th anniversary of the British American colonies declaring independence. The story of this country is one built on a lot of things, but most especially hope- a hope for a better life, for freedom, for the future. Living in the United States today it is hard to keep hold of the feeling of hope. There are a lot of other emotions, at least for me, that come up before hope- rage, embarrassment, disappointment. 

For me, the steward of hope, the person who embodies it so well, who I look to in these trying national times, is the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. His 2006 book is literally called “The Audacity of Hope.” His 2008 presidential campaign inspired artwork of his headshot in reds, whites, and blues above the word hope. During the eight years he was in the presidency, I easily felt more hopeful about a lot of different things- my future, the country, the world. I was also a young adult, when hope is a little easier to come by. While the Great Recession of the early aughts forced practicality, the future was still bright. I could hope to be and do anything. 

In the years since he left political office, I still look to him for guidance in hope. Just a few weeks ago, he opened his Presidential Library in the southside of Chicago, celebrating the work he, his wife Michelle, his family, and team did in those eight years. The Center is also meant to be a brick-and-mortar campus of hopeful inspiration and motivation. One of the things I admire most about President Obama is that while he inspires hope, he also asks for action. 

Maybe that is the thing about hope- it cannot be something you just feel. You also have to support it with purposeful action. I hope to be an author. I am not one unless I actually write a story and share it with the world. (Spoiler alert: I am working on a story and hope to share it with the world.)

At the end of 2016, in the final days of the Obama presidency, hope was very hard to come by as the country’s presidency was changing. But then, a movie that is part of the ‘Star Wars’ story called ‘Rogue One’ was released. I sat in the movie theater one December afternoon and felt something I had been severely missing in the last month since Election Day- hope and inspiration. One of my favorite lines from the movie is “rebellions are built on hope.” 

Our Founding Fathers had to have had hope for a better way of living or else they would not have rebelled against the British crown. Each step towards progress and a more perfect union lies in the hope and action of the American people. We rebel for freedom, even still these 250 years later. We fight for a better life for ourselves, for our children, for the present, and for the future. With every step forward we take, it sometimes feels like we then take five steps back, which can make hope in this country hard to come by. 

I am not an inherently hopeful person. But when I sit in the inspiration of a great man or a great story, I feel that great emotion swell inside. That anything is possible so long as you work toward it. I may never start with hope, but it seems I will always find it when I need it. And I hope you do too. 

Who or what inspires hope in you? Let me know below!

The title of this musing, “Hope, I just need a ray of that” is a lyric from the song “I Need a Doctor” by Dr. Dre, featuring Eminem & Skylar Grey.