I Hope So

I said to Merril earlier I was not sure what to write about this morning (a common occurrence).
She suggested I write on hope.  To me that is a bottom line thing.  I had a reputation at work saying something was the “bottom line.”  By it I meant when all that was possible was considered, the outcome was the “bottom line”.
I do feel that way about hope.  I am amazed when I see destruction either by one human to another or nature disturbing and destroying big time the way it has been set up.  What amazes me is the rebuilding that happens.  To me that is built on hope.  It is something we all need.
The absence of it is to me despair, discouragement and defeat.  It is giving up and giving in.  There seems to me to be more of that than ever too.  Especially in places that have everything and everything is given.
It seems to me hope requires effort.  In the face of destruction clean ups begin.  That is not easy, and I would rather be doing other things, but there are times effort is required to get things back to the way they were - and where possible better than the way they were.
When my place flooded it was hope that caused me to clean up.  It was hope that saw the next door neighbour repair the damage.  It is hope that brings others out to assist.  There is a recognition that damage while inconvenient and at times costly is something that has happened and my response determines the aid I and others provide.
It seems to me in this day and age hope is being squeezed tight.  It is like what is in the bowl on reserve is getting less and less.
Where I interact and who I am involved with, shows me that givens are no longer givens yet hope remains for many.  Readjustments are made.  I think it was my dad who used to say “where there is life there is hope.”  Hope to me is an internal, not an external, thing.