“HOPE IS NOT A FEELING.
Hope is the optimistic belief in opportunity and possibility.
And since the future always holds opportunities and possibilities, there is always hope.
Thus, hope is being realistic…and hopelessness is choosing to be unrealistic.”-Barry Neil Kaufman
The Merriam Webster definition of hope is this: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Straight forward, yes, but this definition does not even touch on the powerful force behind what the word hope inspires. It is, at its core, an attitude, a belief, a driving force in effecting outcome.
Nothing in this world is written in stone. Sure there are statistics and percentages out there to quantify our chances of this or that, but the human spirit cannot be quantified. In reality, hopeFULness isn’t really about getting the desired end result, it’s about choosing to believe that nothing is predetermined. Our attitude effects our choices which in turn effect the outcome of everything that we touch, and that can’t be quantified. When this belief is held, hope and optimism take over. Our energy shifts and things become possible!
It’s important to remember that the future is bigger than our imaginations. It’s unimaginable! To meet it, we need to keep going, to walk past what we can imagine. We need to be unstoppable! Hope is the starting point. It puts us into action in our world!
On the contrary, If we held the attitude that hope really is just something that those who are going through a rough time use to get through it, then possibility diminishes. We respond accordingly to our feelings. If there is no hope for possibility, then there are no actions taken to acquire it!
Without the hope and belief received through this program, the following video moment wouldn’t have become possible. Instead of craving the affection and touch he does on a daily basis, Luke would still be holed up in his room, playing his iPad and asking us to leave. I have so many videos to choose from, as this happens so frequently now, so I am going to pace them out over the next few weeks!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3dfzedPOcw
I also wanted to share this video of me and Lucas on my ball. This video is remarkable to me because a year ago, Lucas needed all control in the playroom. To allow me to control how high he is bounced and for him to join me in this activity on MY ball not only shows his trust but also his ability to let control go and his desire to interact with me. This is happening regularly across the board with all of our volunteers and is truly amazing.
https://youtu.be/P6_WT4blwss