Spring. White flowering trees resembling fairy forests. Tiny purple flowers carpeting the wet ground. Large pink magnolia trees covering the sidewalk with their discarded petals. I find my self constantly gasping, “Look at that! Look at that! Look at that!”
Spring isn’t just a metaphor for new beginnings. It is Hope incarnate. Joyous yellows, bashful pinks, innocent whites, and pops of purple are Mother Nature’s song lyrics. Yes, we can believe in a promise, a wish for that fresh page, a dream of starting over.
So, Spring is Hope. But what is Hope? Dictionaries state that hope is trust or desires or beliefs.
What it’s not is forced optimism. Ignoring what is rotting on the table while just seeing a fresh grape roll across the floor doesn’t clean up the mess in the kitchen.
What it’s not is false spring. Looking at one good day does not make the entire year rainbows and sing-a-longs with colorful animated forest animals.
What it’s not is avoidance. Just because you don’t read or watch this chaos unfold, doesn’t meaning it isn’t happening.
What it’s not is living in an echo chamber. Reading or watching “news” that you curate doesn’t make you informed, it isolates you from reality.
What is Hope, then?
It is crowds of thousands gathering to hear words of action from real leaders.
It is successful boycotts of companies that bow to the clowns in charge.
It is companies that have stood up for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Said companies are now reaping the benefits of such stands.
It is individuals still speaking up despite death threats.
It is an honorable journalist who broke news of a text thread that put the lives of our troops in danger instead of waiting two years to publish a book about it.
It is judges and a few on the right who are doing their jobs, following the rules of law and representing their constituents instead of falling at the feet of morons.
It is people who are daily standing up to this terrifying national crisis, whether it is through phone calls, emails, protests, or in-person visits.
It is religious leaders calling out the hypocrisy of “christian nationalism,” knowing it is the antithesis of anything Jesus preached.
It is people who voted for this guy who are now beginning to see what is happening in real time and are speaking up against it.
Hope is all of this and more.
It is speaking up even if your voice and hands are shaking. Hope is fighting with what you have, even if is it a tiny gesture. It is that feeling in your gut that you are doing the right thing.
Spring reminds me of all this.
Determination. Faith. Beauty. Love. Delight. Joy. Courage. Resolve. Courage.
Our humanity. Our nerve. Our hope.
“It is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world.” ~Mary Oliver
(My resistance the last few days: spring cleaning, shopping at Costco, sending emails to senators and representative, walking among the blooms, lunches with friends, and sending positive energy out to this beautiful, scary, crazy, amazing world.)