HOPE, it’s something we all have….
I have HOPE. Very simple, I have hope. I have to be honest though, earlier today, I was, how should I say, enraged. Multiple events have happened these last few days, and instead of letting the emotional fury ruin my day, I had to rely on my HOPE.
HOPE: v; foresee, deem likely, be assured…
I still have hope. Four people from our service lost their lives yesterday: hope; Planned Parenthood selling body parts from infants: hope; ESPY Award Show, (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award; an accolade presented by the American cable T.V. network ESPN to recognize individual and team athletic and other sports-related performance during the calender year preceding a given annual ceremony), hope. (Does anyone know who won the World Cup last week???). There’s a whole lot going on right now, but people, have some hope, and faith. That’s our shift in the gears, be assured that we will stand tall. For myself, I try to provide some sort of hope for other people,( given my record), even if it’s one person. To the world you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world. Here’s what I mean about that statement, and it was just one person. This just happened to me today. As most of you know, I speak to Neurological trauma patients at UCLA every Monday, the sixth floor (North) is the area where the patients lie in their beds. There are 26 rooms in this ward, so over a period of time, I speak to a lot of people, and( given my memory!), sometimes I forget what I said and to whom. This morning, I got a personal phone call from a previous patient, a patient that I had spoken to awhile back. I might have mentioned this before,(about someone getting a hold of me, when I have little or no recollection), but this person was someone I had a conversation with, and have no idea how long we talked, or what we talked about. I do know her name, but the conversation; no clue. The point here is it doesn’t matter. I just did what I try to do, try to make their day a little more pleasurable. This was my version of “hope” today. Sometimes our “light” goes out, (today, mine did), but someone steps in. Here was someone that I tried to give a helping hand to, but look who gave me a hand! We had a great conversion about how she is doing now, and I think that each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light. It makes such a huge difference; there’s a lot out there that can bring you down a bit, but there’s a whole LOT out there that can raise you up. The key is to let it, let it happen! The profession that I’m in, fitness, is the same way. We all want SOMETHING to take our mind away from events that maybe just happened, and for me, it is fitness. I’m blessed, I think, because I have to get up earlier than I want to, for clients; but after working with the clients, I have my turn, and that is my “light”, my workout, it takes my mind off of everything else, and that’s when I feel my best, I keep my mind focused on that moment of MY workout. That is why I’m in this business, to relay that info to all those that I work with, my release!
We had a very exciting Major League Baseball All-Star game Tuesday night, now isn’t that a plus? I had to have an MRI again (Wednesday), and then see two Doctor’s for the results. They gave me very promising news; isn’t that a plus? I had an appointment with my surgeon, (because he’s on “my” team!), who, by the way, returns my call to him within the hour, I mean isn’t THAT a plus??? I guess it all goes back to how we look at things. I have a cousin that I think the world of, (that you, Rosann!), and I had to call her yesterday, because she ALWAYS pulls me up on that day where the light goes out. She restored it. She’s my support, on my support team. We all have that, use your team. We can’t go on, day to day, looking at the glass that seems to be half-empty that day; trust me, it’s ALWAYS half-full, ALWAYS! Keep that in mind; conversing is extremely helpful, ENJOY the “good” news!
On the July 4th weekend, I went to see a friend in Colorado. We went to different high schools, but played football against each other, and became great friends through high school, and also went to the same college. This is someone I’ve known for over 40 years,(ouchhhhh!), and isn’t that how life goes, we choose to be great friends, and 40 years later, we still are! That’s the beauty, we choose that; everything in our lives was the right decision, because we choose which way to go. Great stuff, this life; we can have a frown, or a smile, and I think the smile is a great way to go. The smile not only brightens your day, but the day of so many others, or only one. I got that one today; and I only hope that maybe that goes to another one. That’s my “hope”, that it keeps going on; that’s what I foresee.
We do ourselves, and everyone else, a great service when we take a break from our sorrows, and extend ourselves to someone in need. Think about that; I’ll bet that you all have done that every day, but if you stay in that wonderful moment when someone smiles, or says thank you, or maybe just nods their head at you, you made their day, enjoy that!
