Even if the hopes you started out with are dashed, hope has to be maintained. – Seamus Heaney
I hope I get a new bicycle for Christmas; I got a sweater.
I hope I got an “A’ on the exam; I got a “D”.
I hope I pass my driver’s test; I flunked again.
Hope is a good thing; it provides a feeling of expectation that something may happen to make things better.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case; hopes often are frustrated, ruined, or dashed, usually by some outside force.
Physical therapy had become the primary focus of my life and the source of my hope since leaving the hospital. Bernie and Gary literally taught me how to crawl, to stand, and to walk again.
Just when I was making progress, building confidence, and regaining some control over my body, the flu sidelined me for six weeks.
But was it the flu, a relapse, or something worse? I was at the mercy of my imagination and fears.
Without physical therapy to stimulate, motivate, and encourage me, I spent those six weeks in the company of worry, apathy, and self-pity. – Excerpt from “I’m Afraid”
Physical therapy gave me the hope that I possibly could recover from cerebellitis.
It was not the only therapy and treatment that I would require, but initially it was the anchor I embraced.
The flu was an outside force that hindered my progress, but certainly did not destroy it.
On the other hand, six weeks in the company of worry, apathy, and self-pity certainly could have been devastating.
Outside forces can be seen, wrestled with, and overcome more successfully than elusive, often unrecognized inside forces.
Especially, the children of Fear.
In either case, it is vital that hope survives to provide the courage and strength to carry on.
I offer these thoughts for your consideration.
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The saga continues in my next blog.
Do Not Be Afraid!!!