Hope in Blog

This is a blog about hope; a four letter word that we can’t live without.

We throw this word around without thought: “I hope you can make it….”
“You are our last hope…” “Don’t give up hope…” “All we can do is hope…”

On and on it goes, these four letters strung together, our glue, our reason to go forward, our response to life gone sour, to life turning the corner, and to life in general. Blogging about hope, raises the question of what do we do without it. What happens when we hit-the-wall and abandon hope? Is it true that hope is the last thing to die?

When a person is given a life sentence, the final diagnosis that sets the stage for a permanent exit, and the exit doesn’t have to be loss of life, it can be the death of a relationship, a marriage or an idea. What role does hope play?

One would hope that loved ones rally around and give encouraging messages. Fight-the-fight, they will say, this is a battle you can win, they chorus, and don’t listen to negative thinkers, that’s what close friends and family say. Yet, reality is all around and hope must somehow stay afloat on its own.

Hope in blog asks us to give more than we get. Maintaining the spirit of hope is not always accomplished. When hope wanes, we must look inside our self. Hope denies imposters and self-service. Hope is pure and spiritual.

If someone you know needs encouragement, needs the thread of hope sewn into their fading tapestry, then step up and take a position of the bearer of hope for others. Perhaps in doing this we will be fortunate to have the same in return.

Belly of the Whale carries the message of hope. It does not take advantage of breast cancer or the roller coaster surrounding the highs and lows associated with dealing with it in our life or that of a loved one. Belly of the Whale offers insight into the regaining of strength sometimes lost during cataclysmic events.

In the spirit of the symbolism of the Resurrection, may we all retain the ability to rise above the darkness in our lives.

Blog what you hear, what you see, and what you feel.

“To give up hope is to give up life”. Quoted from Belly of the Whale, available for pre-order at: www.amazon.com and in stores, April 1, 2008.

Linda Merlino, author, Belly of the Whale: http://www.lindamerlino.com