Bridget McNulty

In a spirit of hope…

// November 5th, 2008 // Inspiration, Laughter, Life (and the living of it)

I woke up this morning feeling hopeful, and not only because I’m not sick any more!

Barack Obama is the president of the United States. The first black president in history, and a pretty charismatic guy at that! Doesn’t this bode well? Surely this could have an enormous impact on a number of issues that affect us all over the world, even here in South Africa?

Now, my normal response to News of any kind (political / economic / violent) is to stick my head in the sand. Not because I don’t want to know what’s going on, per se, but just because I think that the more energy you give to a crisis of any kind, the stronger it grows. And South Africa has more than its fair share of violent horror stories – if I paid attention to all of them, I’d be a dithering heap.

That said, I’m also quite sensitive to the prevailing mood, and the mood in the last couple of weeks (could it be months?) has been one of fear, uncertainty and doubt. The economic crisis, the global meltdown, the political uncertainty, none of it makes for happy times. Add to that severe financial restraints for the upcoming holidays, and I’m not seeing too many happy campers.

But perhaps this one shift – this shift where the most powerful country in the world has chosen the right person to lead them – will start to change all that. Do you think I’m being naive? Perhaps. But wouldn’t you like to join me? Just for today, what if this heralds the beginning of a new age? What then?

I began my day today with a cup of tea in the sun on my verandah, and my gratitude journal. In the hubbub of daily activity I’ve forgotten, lately, to list the reasons I’m grateful for my most wonderful life. Writing them down this morning helped propel me into this hopeful, festive mood. Why don’t you give it a try? If nothing else, a gang of hopeful people will infect those around us, and they’ll infect those around them, until we have a small colony of hope growing.

The cultivation of hope: a worthy goal, I believe.