Three years ago, I published “Hallelujah for Hope” – https://mhw83.com/hallelujah-for-hope/. I wrote that as I sat in the apartment I used to live in, overlooking City Park in Denver. Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen played on repeat in the backyard and the lights sparkled from the trees onto the snow of the streets of Denver. I sat there with no one else around yearning for hope and reminding myself of the magic of what the season brings to us all – HOPE.
As I have had a few moments recently to sit with myself, I am filled with hope. As I wrote three years ago, my words still ring true to me today…Hope is complex beast. It brings to the surface light and darkness. Simplicity and complexity. Pleasures and pains. It challenges us to be opportunists that embrace the beautiful complexity of life.
Hope. Noun. A feeling of trust. A feeling of optimism or expectation for something to happen. A wish.
Hope. Verb. To cherish a desire with anticipation. A want for something to be the case.
Hope. I continue to be constantly grateful for the ability to have hope. And not just have hope, but wake up wanting to have hope. When I have every reason to not or to give in to the fact that life will happen regardless (so what’s the point)…I continue to hope. I choose to not let life, experiences, people, external factors have the power or ability to damper that flame within me. Having hope…with a sprinkle of realism…is a powerful force.
This holiday season I am struck with the word FAITH. Not quite trust…but having faith…is a wish for myself, my loved ones, and for our society that we lean into a little more as close the year and look to the year ahead.
Faith. Noun. To have complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
Faith. Noun. A strong belief in God or a religious figure, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.
On faith. Phrase. Without question.
Faith is a loaded word and a hard one for me that throughout my life I have leaned into and at the same time, far away from. To have complete trust is a loaded ask – maybe not for our children or those who are still filled with complete innocence – but for those of us that have experienced life…most would say having complete trust is near to impossible. And whether one believes in a religion or a religious figure or is spiritual or simply has a strong belief in someone or something without any proof…I believe we ALL have FAITH.
Without question…I put faith in myself, in others, in those who I entrust with my children, in those I work alongside to achieve business and personal goals together…without question…whether I sometimes believe I am or not – I am actively pursuing faith daily.
Like hope, faith is a loaded and complex word…but how blessed and fortunate are we all to have this to lean on, to entrust in, and to remind ourselves that the simple and sometimes “blind trust” moments are those in our lives that spark the most magic, the most ‘success’ and the most memorable times.
“…I’ve heard there was a secret chord…but you don’t really care for music, do you?…well it goes like this, the fourth, the fifth…the minor fall, the major lift…Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah…but you needed proof…well…it’s a cold and broken hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah…” – Leonard Cohen
Today and always…I will sing from the rafters…HALLELUJAH for FAITH…on the days I am actively practicing it and especially on the days I am challenged…
#FAITHALWAYS