Truth and Meaning: Hope

Nepal.  Baltimore.  Marriage Equality.  Black Lives Matter.  Deportations.  Bomb Trains.  Benghazi (again?!).  The list goes on and on.

Anger. Frustration.  Exhaustion.  Helplessness.  Betrayal.  Hopelessness. We feel them all because we are human and because we care.

I remain convinced, however, that each and every one of us can take these emotions and constructively turn them into actions to address every one of these issues. All of these emotions save one — hopelessness.

Hopelessness is a terminal disease that destroys our ability to get up each morning and face the realities of life. Hopelessness blocks our spiritual immune system from facing the fear and dread of catastrophe, ignorance and hate.

But there is a cure for this disease. For while we might be unable to cure our selves, we can cure each other. We can promise to devote ourselves to each other, come what may and whatever our differences.

But if your church tells you to judge others, to be intolerant of our differences, then hopelessness will win. Only through respect and love can we rid ourselves of the viral epidemic invading the social body today.

In 1770, Universalist minister John Murray had lost everything — his wife, his child, his financial means, and his faith. He gave up his ministry to lose himself in America. Thanks to a farmer with a dream, Murray overcame his hopelessness and rediscovered his calling. Later, he wrote: 

"You may possess a small light. Uncover it, let it shine. Use it to bring more light and understanding to the hearts and minds of men and women."