H.O.P.E.

H.O.P.E
             Hold On Pain Ends.

When I feel like giving up, I go back to this story of the 4 candles, if you haven't seen it before it's a great reminder of keeping hope alive and if you have, let me refresh your memory :)

"Four candles burned slowly in a room. Their ambiance so soft, you could hear them speak.”

The first candle was Peace.

“Nobody wants me these days,” its flame whispered sadly. “The world is full of anger and fighting.”

"It diminished slowly and went out completely."

The second candle was Faith.

“I am no longer needed," it lamented. “Trust is dead, belief has gone from this world.”

"Unneeded, unheeded, its flame slowly weakened too. It coughed finally and died."

The third candle was Love.

'I feel powerless too,' it thought sadly. 'People don't care about me, don't understand me anymore. They even forget to love those who are nearest to them.'

"Suffocated by emotion, it sputtered out completely."

A child entered the room and saw that three out of four candles were no longer burning. Shadows that were creeping up on the walls, leapt at him now.

Suddenly afraid of the growing darkness, the kid began to cry."Why are you not burning?” he implored the dead candles. “You were supposed to guide me until the end."

The flame of the fourth candle flickered up as it heard this.

“Do not be afraid,” it said gently. “For I am Hope, and while I still burn, we can rekindle the others."

“Through tear-filled eyes, the kid peered at the last burning candle. Scared to put it out when he moved it, he stood rooted at his spot."

“Come here child,” Hope beckoned again compassionately. "Be strong. Look, I'm still alive and well."

"Gingerly, the child picked it up and re-lit the other candles. Life brightened up again, dispelling darkness from the furthest corners of the room."

Moral of the story; "Keep Hope alive, as long as there is Hope, all of us can live again with Peace, Faith and Love, recover from the darkness and recoup our lives."

We must accept finite disappointment

               but never lose infinite hope.
                                   -Martin Luther King Jr. 

At this point I think my hope has been pumped on steroids because I don't understand how somehow amidst all the let downs I'm still looking at the light in front of me knowing I will reach it. Patience is not one of my strongest suit I will admit, but for a year now I've been praying for something and then I'll get teased with it and BOOM! it's gone. I'm just like "God are we playing cause I was being serious this whole time?" LOL. I'm at the point where some may say give up or "it's probably not meant for you" but the way I'm looking at it, Sarah waited 90 years for a child so one year is not too bad. I'm not saying my patience can run 90 yrs, just making a point. The alternative will be to settle and that's just something I can't do, the price is way too high.

For most of us it may seem draining to work towards something and not have it fall through when we thought it would but if we're being honest, when does it ever? Sometimes you try so hard and you finally throw your hands in the air and give in. I completely understand but what if you gave up a week too soon? What if, if you had kept looking for just another week you would have found it? Or if that application you never finished was actually IT?  The harder the journey the bigger the blessing.  Mama Oprah of all people was rejected and look at her now? What if she gave up? JK Rowling got rejected 12 times? And funny enough each rejection only fueled her cravings to publish (she needs to share how she did that really, I'm struggling here) and the results? Harry Potter! (Comment below if you totally said that in professor Mcgonagall's voice) Even I was obsessed. I had the notebooks and everything. I even cried when Dumbledore died reading the book smh.

I'm always the first to lift someone up, to help them find their light and pray for and with them because helping others has a way of reassuring me that my time is on it's way. It will happen for me too. We all have that strong friend who also from time to time needs to be checked on. Recent events have proven that more than ever. Just because they look like they're doing well on social media or because they say "I'm fine" doesn't mean so. I don't understand friends who shut people out, I don't know how to think because I love talking through a situation. I understand giving people space but shutting me out ah that one pass my power. Luckily enough none of my circle is like that, matter of fact they'll let me know what's up we thank God but even if they don't, I know their vibe. If I call them and they sound funny, I ask straight up. Pay attention to your loved ones it goes a long way and knowing that people care for you is a great feeling.

I have my days where I'm happy as a kid and others when my answer is "I've seen better days" Lol and that's okay. All in all we gotta keep moving because life is regardless of if you're rocking with it or not, so might as well keep it moving.

Having a person, your person is important and not everyone will be that for you or let you be that for them. I've gotten shut out quite a bit but then I realized they do have someone and it's just not me and that's okay too. As long as we're all covered, I'm happy.

This space I created is to be your person rooting for you at the start, middle and finish line because you have it in you. We would have never had some of the greatest inventions in life if people gave up. Don't deprive us of a good thing cause you're tired. The journey you're on is life's greatest lesson to you because the destination will last but only for a minute and you'll be off on another route seeking the next best thing.

This is as much for you as it is for me. So here's to us, may we never tire and may we see ourselves as able to conquer whatever our minds conceive. I see blessings coming your way Queens and Kings!