This weekend, Annie and I have the joy of looking after beloved Grandsons Sebastian (4) and Reece (20 months) – pictured above.When I look at the wrongs we supposedly intelligent and advanced adults have created, I continually thank God for the innocence of children and the hope they provide.
19 comments:
Trevor,
I have photos of Sandy and the kids right in front of me on my desk. Whenever I find myself frustrated with something in my work or some seemingly insurmountable task in life and asking "Why even try?" I look at those.
Question answered. Unequivocally.
Grandfather to grandfather, I heartily concur.
-- Dick
Thanks Dick - hope little Lucy is still thriving - she remains in our prayers.
My Dear Trevor,
Good evening,
'am returning to "Simplicity forum" nearly after a gap of a month and a half. Vijayalakshmi is improving gradually at home and I need to spend a good part of time in taking care of her. I thank all my simplicity friends for their good wishes, prayers and being supportive at a time when I was very much in need of it.
Now coming to the topic of the post, you are absolutely right-Every one is right to have HOPE and there is no life without Hope and more so when it is through children its divine hope as children are said to be similar to God.
You and Annie are blessed to spend your week end in the midst of "Little Gods" in the form of Sebastian and Reece. Whilst on the topic"The Right to have Hope", it reminds me of "Hope- Keep it Alive & intact and work, and it will work for you".I hope all my simplicity friends will love to read it and with your kind permission it goes here...........................
Hope-Keep it ALIVE & IN TACT & work-It will work for you.
If you can look at the sunset and smile, then you still have hope.
If you can find beauty in the colors of a small flower, then you still have hope.
If you can find pleasure in the movement of a butterfly, then you still have hope.
If the smile of a child can still warm your heart, then you still have hope.
If you can see the good in other people, then you still have hope.
If the rain breaking on a roof top can still lull you to sleep, then you still have hope.
If the sight of a rainbow still makes you stop and stare in wonder, then you still have hope
If the soft fur of a favoured pet still feels pleasant under your fingertips, then you still have hope.
If you meet new people with a trace of excitement and optimism, then you still have hope.
If you give people the benefit of a doubt, then you still have hope.
If you still offer your hand in friendship to others that have touched your life, then you still have hope.
If receiving an unexpected card or letter still brings a pleasant surprise, then you still have hope.
If the suffering of others still fills you with pain and frustration, then you still have hope.
If you refuse to let a friendship die, or accept that it must end, then you still have hope.
If you look forward to a time or place of quiet and reflection, then you still have hope.
If you still buy the ornaments, put up the Christmas tree or cook the turkey, then you still have hope.
If you still watch love stories or want the endings to be happy, then you still have hope.
If you can look to the past and smile, then you still have hope.
If, when faced with the bad, when told everything is futile, you can still look up and end the conversation with the phrase... "yeah....BUT.." then you still have hope.
Hope is such a marvelous thing. It bends, it twists, it sometimes hides, but rarely does it break. It sustains us when nothing else can. It gives us reason to continue and courage to move ahead, when we tell ourselves we'd rather give in.
Hope puts a smile on our face when the heart cannot manage.
Hope puts our feet on the path when our eyes cannot see it.
Hope moves us to act when our souls are confused of the direction.
Hope is a wonderful thing, something to be cherished and nurtured, and something that will refresh us in return. And it can be found in each of us, and it can bring light into the darkest of places.
&
Never lose hope.
J.K
HOPE = "Helping Others Peacefully Exist"
As a grandfather also, I heartily agree that having my own two grandkids brings me hope. I can sit and watch them play and I just know everything is going to be OK.
Thanks for this,
Tim
In terms of hope, we should endeavor to create better conditions and a better foundation for the youth of today, as they are the leadership of tomorrow. It is up to us to determine what sort of world we hand down to them.
I am thankful for the next generation, and hope that they learn from our mistakes and successes, build upon them, and make this world a better place than ever.
There is hope. We are looking at it every time we see a child smile.
"The seeds of depression can not take root in a thankful heart."
Hi JK – great to hear from you again and please accept my best wishes, continuing prayers and thoughts for your dear wife Vijayalakshmi. We have missed your words of wisdom in the last 6 weeks – welcome back my friend.
Best wishes from both Trevor and Annie.
Hi Tim and thanks for the lovely acronym – I will now steal this and use it :-)
I never realised becoming a Grandfather could bring so much joy. I feel blessed – thanks for your kind words. The joy of blogging is the opportunity to meet such great people as I do on Simplicity Blog.
Hi Dan - As someone said to me last year – Young people may be only 14% of our total population but they are 100% of our future. I have great faith in our young people –I suspect they will be far more sensible than my generation!
I love the quote by the way – another one I can steal my friend :- )
"I have great faith in our young people –I suspect they will be far more sensible than my generation!"
I feel certain they will exceed our generation in accomplishments and good deeds. It's only sad that at times that does not seem like a major achievement. But we're trying, aren't we, my friend?
We certainly are Dan and I am very proud of it my friend!
Our joint effort with Dave Wheeler is an example of how people can co-operate across thousands of miles, different time zones and different cultures to do good stuff underpinned by integrity, trust, openness and honesty.
We are best advised to do these things in spite of politics!
The best motivation is always personal. “You must be the change etc.,”
JK and his wisdom are back!!!!!!
God Bless and I hope and pray for you and yours.
Trevor,
I was meeting with some clients today and we were discussing politics, government, US Military, and business practices of today. The couple, very young and getting married, were talking about possbile deployments to far away country's to protect liberty...at least, I think we're still deploying our military to protect liberties for us and other countries.
In the middle of the meeting, I stopped and looked at the couple------vibrant, young, and full of piss and vinegar and said, "You guys are the future, our hope and we (the older generations) are doing everything we can to screw it up for you." We had a good laugh about deficit spending, billions have become trillions, and a cup of coffee is $2.00 at some watering holes.
Good times I tell ya...
Scott,
Pausing to look at that young couple and realizing that they are the ones stepping up to take the reigns of the world is sort of humbling thing, isn't it?
On one hand, there are all the young folks looking to you, me, all of us for some sort of guidance and advice. On the other, we find ourselves hoping they do a better job than we have. Not that we aren't trying. But we still hope they exceed our accomplishments and do a much better job of it.
All the more reason for our generation to admit our own shortcomings to them AND to ourselves, learning from our own mistakes.
I haven't given up on our generation. But there is no reason for each generation that comes along not to do better than the prior ones.
I so often hear people use phrases like "Well, there's always tomorrow" or "We have the rest of our lives to do..." Hello? We said that yesterday. This IS tomorrow. So what's our excuse NOW? And this IS the rest of our lives.
Let us indeed have faith and hope in the next generation. But let us also realize that it is NEVER too late to work on righting the wrongs of our own generation and attempt to leave the next generation something better than we would be handing down at this very moment in time.
Another way of looking at it is this: what would our predecessors think of the job WE are doing? Would and should we expect them to accept our excuse of "Well, there's always the next generation... things are too far gone?"
I say all this to point out the importance of us at least setting a good example for the next generation by never giving up hope and by always giving it our best.
We may be handing down a lot of messes for them to work on, but determination and hope ARE part of our legacy.
Excellent of you to express to them your faith and hope in them and their abilities to make the world a better place. Trust is an Excellent starting point.
Dan,
Well said on this wonderful Memorial Day in America. I live right next to the Air Force Academy and I was watching the Thunderbirds prep for cadet graduation today.
Humor is such a great transitioning tool to connect with younger and older generations. When I realize that I'm just a blade of grass in an acre of green pasture, I'm humbled by the parts = the whole. In keeping with what you've said, I just try and live my life as simple as possible while enjoying small victories and wonderful relationships.
Today was a great example-----
I play in a band that opened up a pretty good venue in Colorado Springs this morning. Our band's drummer lost his only child, both parents, and his oldest sister a little over two months ago in a tragic car crash. We do a song by REM, The One I Love, and our drummer had asked me to dedicate the song to his son. A very touching/humbling moment during the set that finished with his wife blowing our drummer a kiss. Our drummer has hope, he jammed as if his son was listening, and we plowed through the rest of the songs.
Life is truly a treasure, and in keeping with Trevor's pictures and being right to have hope, a gained a little more today.
Thanks for your thoughts...
Scott,
Humor is often a GREAT way to connect with almost anyone, indeed. I know our Creator has a sense of humor. If I ever doubt that, I need only look in the mirror and I have conclusive proof of that.
Thank you for sharing the story about your band member's loss and the tribute/dedication. I love to play guitar myself. It is no mere coincidence that certain songs I do -- the ones that people comment to much on -- are the ones that reach me out of emotional connections. If a song truly resonates with your feelings and experiences, then it almost doesn't matter how well you play or sing, people subconsciously "feel" something that touches them, too. There are a couple of songs that I have a difficult time getting through without choking up, and those are the ones that people most frequently ask me to play and sing when we're all sitting around cooking out, etc.
People know when you're real. And just like that young couple you were talking about earlier, people will have a much greater sense of trust, even when you have to tell them "I just don't have an easy answer," as long as they know you're being honest and sincere with them.
I know from all my years in medicine that patients will almost always forgive and honest mistake -- "honest" being the operative word here -- if you will simply admit it, apologize, and do whatever you can to make the situation right.
I have hope for us humans in general. We're not a lost cause, we've just lost sight of what matters most a bit too often.
It starts within ourselves. If we want to change the world, we have to start by looking within our own hearts.
I think it was Einstein that said "When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."
Scott and Dan – thanks for the exchange - I’ve been out of action for a few days but now back and raring to go. The tie with Sebastian and Reece was great – would not have missed that for anything.
I remain optimistic about people generally and young people in particular. My optimism is certainly not about political leaders – but about ordinary people.
Scott - I remember you telling me of the tragedy of your band members’ family. That was truly awful – I often wonder how people ever get over such tragedy. Sounds like your friend is doing the right things.
Dan,
Bravo and thanks...
Dear Scott,
Thank you very much for your words of inspiration, encouragement, motivation, support and of course for your divine prayers.
I shall be in touch with all my simplicity friends.
regards.
J.K
the children are very cute:)
i like little children. they like you & smile at you...no mather how you look or how you behave...
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