Hope, and the miracle of reaching out
... the profound power of simple connection
Is there anything more hope-filled and healing than authentic connection?
Six pairs of hands rise and stretch 50 feet over a waterway at the Arsenale former shipyard in Venice’s eastern Castello District. Sculptor Lorenzo Quinn’s evocative work, crafted in resin to resemble the marble seen throughout Italy, celebrates friendship, hope, love, help, faith, and wisdom. (See more here:Lorenzo Quinn's Building Bridges
What if we gave the gift of connection?
Connection that says I see you.
Connection that says You matter.
Connection that says Here, take my hand.
Connection that says, We can do this. Together, we can do this!
Connection that signals compassion, support, encouragement.
I don’t know about you, but something shifts deep within me in those moments of connection
... In small gestures, and huge hugs, and especially the unexpected extra-generous kindnesses, like…
When a song comes on the speakers in a public space and people “of a certain age” make eye contact with each other and smile, and dance a little as they walk
When I slow down enough to chat with the bookseller in the airport shop
When the clerk at the store smiles
When I tell the young woman at the coffee shop that her nails are awesome, and her eyes light up and mine do too
When the neighbor waves on her way out of the driveway
When a little girl calls my dog a “fluffy puff” and he soaks it up, and she does too
When a new friend texts you one of your favorite poet’s quotes without knowing how much you treasure it
When the storm hits and your neighbor offers coffee because their generator works
When an old friend remembers that it’s a tough anniversary day and leaves a message that says she’s there if you want to talk, but she knows you well enough to know that you won’t and you both know that the silence is a sound of love too
When you’re feeling overwhelmed and keep forgetting to eat and the person you hardly know from the gym drops the “ready to heat” veggie pasta at your front door
Connection showing up as simple kindness, authentic compassion – this is part of the lexicon of hope.
And in these high-anxiety days, who doesn’t need another dose of hope?
Lots of voices tell us to be afraid, to be suspicious, to be defensive. And I’m all for healthy boundaries and common sense.
And hope. I’m all for hope.
Sometimes we feel like we have to choose: Fear? Or hope?
Truth is, they both live in us. And they both motivate us- in really different directions.
But we get to choose what we embrace, so choose.
Fear, or hope?
What will it be for you today?
Maybe reach out? Maybe extend a hand? Maybe initiate a connection, a kindness, a spark of hope?
Maybe receive the hand that another beautiful and broken human extends to you? Maybe grasp it with gratitude and multiply the hope for both? Maybe even find a moment of empathy, or solidarity, or joy?
Maybe connection creates delight, and maybe that’s a good start for leaning toward hope?
I’d love to hear what that looks like for you today… this week… this season!
The boys came over for dinner last night. They asked how I was and I told them good. Gus opened the refrigerator and I told him to get whatever he wanted. He said “I’m just checking to see how you really are.” I think I understand now ❤️