Reflections

Island of Hope, Despair

• By Abel
• December 4, 2014
• No Comments

I’m on an island where everyone else is so different from me. Then, out of the blue someone unexpected comes my way and expresses the same sort of despair I’m feeling – unchallenged, underutilized, not seen for all that we can contribute. Someone who asks the same questions I ask, someone who is intelligent, organized and together, and someone who has similar concerns about their environment shows up. Someone I can connect with, but only briefly. Long enough for me to extend an encouraging word to help them think about their current circumstances differently; and, in so doing, I’m led to see mine in a new light as well.

I’m still alone, yet not completely. The things I’ve seen, experienced, and become aware of are communicated back to me giving them a reality and credibility that anchors me and makes me feel sane. But I’m careful not to get attached to this connection because though it’s comforting to find likeness of mind, it’s also constricting: an easy way to fall back in to old thought patterns, to become negative, and to obscure the gifts that are buried in my current situation. This interaction serves to make me aware that continuing to pursue my outside interests in an attempt at happiness beyond contentedness is the right path and that dreams are meant to be worked toward whether they are achieved or not, because they provide hope that balances the despair that insidiously creeps in to life.

Photo Credit: Don McCullough