Hope

Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark. ~George Iles

Some see a hopeless end, while others see an endless hope. ~Unknown

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. ~Winston Churchill

If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops -- at all. ~Emily Dickinson

Once you choose to hope, anything's possible. ~Christopher Reeve

Hope never abandons you -- you abandon it. ~George Weinberg

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen ~Heb.11:1

Monday’s frustrate me. I am not sure if it’s because it is the beginning of a week or the end of the weekend or the combination of the two. Today is especially difficult because I did not want this weekend to end because I had an exciting but relaxing time with friends and even met some new people. The single life is growing on me but at the same time do I hope to find someone who can be my companion? Of course, hope is always there. I did a web search about quotes about hope and came up with millions of hits; I chose a few of my favorites (above). After doing my search I started to think about what hope is to me….then I went to dictionary.com to see the literal meaning. It told me that it is defined as a feeling from which expectations are centered and a reasonable confidence that something we desire will come to volition at some point in our future AND it is something we place our trust in. To me all of this wraps hope up into one neat little package and tells me that someday I will no longer have hope for a partner but hope to spend the rest of my life WITH that partner.

My wondering about hope came after reading an article on Oprah.com called How Can You Tell Who the Right Person is for You? By Amy Bloom. After reading this article I began to think about the possibility of me moving too quickly in the past—hence the failures. I am the type of person who wears their heart on their sleeve and I have unending loyalty….until. I can be hurt over-and-over yet still endure at the expense of my own emotional well-being. I do not say this because I am looking for sympathy but because I am constantly on a road of self-discovery. I want to know why I do things and how to break the constant cycle and to know and appreciate myself. I think that in my immediate past relationship I allowed too many boundaries to be invaded and crossed. I expected too much without considering the character compared to their history. Of course we all want to believe that Cinderella gets swept up on Prince Charming's white horse and rides off into the sunset but I am a realist here….not going to happen! There is NO perfect relationship but there is a perfect relationship for everyone. This is the basic premise of the article and my thoughts about holding onto hope.

One of my favorite movies is Pretty Woman. This is the ultimate tale of hope in the modern world. Vivian is picked up by a filthy rich man in his borrowed Lotus Esprit, eventually riding off into the sunset in his limo to live happily ever after. Do I believe that things like this happen? Of course I do, being the hopeless romantic that I am I cannot NOT believe it. Do I think that they lived happily ever after without any issues….UM, as I said, I am a realist and I would say absolutely NOT in a million years could a relationship NEVER have problems. I think that my biggest issue in a new relationship is the uncertainty of it all. Do they like my hair, do they like my smile, what do they think of my character….and so on. I have been with men who tell you like it is from day one and then I have been with some who constantly keep you guessing. I think that my happy place is somewhere in the middle. At times it is good to be guessing but at the same time you do not want to guess to the point of not knowing where you stand. Everyone needs to feel somewhat secure even in the beginning of a relationship.

Now I am not asking for an instant proposal because I know that I am not emotionally ready for that. I am looking for someone who I can spend some time with, laugh with and feel that they want to do the same with me—just to see where things go. I want someone to be open and honest no matter what! I am an analyzer and (as I said previously) I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve which sometimes is not a good combination. I can have a very strong personality but inside I am a quiet and shy, old-fashioned girl. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE to have fun as much as the next girl but I also love to have a nice peaceful evening at home watching a great movie, cuddling on the couch within the wrapped in the glow of candles. Where does my hope begin and end? I think that it begins with the thought that there is NO perfect mate and that finding the RIGHT mate is BEING the best mate. My hope lies in the possibility of being with someone who will treasure me (most days!) and be there no matter what. I am NOT perfect and I do not expect anyone to be but I do expect someone who tells me the truth (even when it hurts) AND who will be faithful. My hope comes from a place in me that knows that there IS someone out there who will be that for me and who will appreciate me for my great qualities and for my shortcomings. I live in reality here so I know that these things take time but I can still wake up everyday thinking that someday it WILL happen! Hope brings substance to the future! I heard on the radio this morning that we were once rocks but your presence made us stars….a rock is just a star waiting to glow.