To Live Is To Hope

It’s been a long time since my last post on this blog. I have spent so much time doing my daily routine that I forgot to write something, to pour out my thoughts, to share my feelings, to engrave the words and feel the freedom.

All of the idea are always there, in my mind, but ain’t ever written.

Until last night I had a conversation with my best friend – a very deep conversation about hope. The conversation inspired me to write this post.

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It was about 11.30 PM. Silence and no lights in my room. I heard his warm voice talking through the other line of the phone. I heard the clock was ticking in his room. Softly. The tick-tock sound faded out as his neighbor’s dog barked.

We questioned about many things, like how can people survive through the hard times? What makes their life meaningful? What is desperation? Why people get tired of life? How can people fight for happiness no matter how painful the process is?

So, he told me what was on his mind. Gently. Without doubt or showing superiority.

It is hope that makes our lives going. It is hope that makes us believe that there would be a silver lining although the skies were all gray. Without hope, we actually live for nothing. Empty. We lose our direction. We don’t have a clue where to walk like trapped in long and dark tunnel.

It does not matter how dark or hard or painful or sour our life is, we must hope for something good. We believe that we would win the battle. We would be a victor, not a victim. We can sweeten our life. We can paint the darkness with yellow, orange, or fuchsia.

“Every day is a hope,” he told me. “Hope gives us happiness. Don’t wait for happiness.”

He said that people who lose hope often question about ‘how-can-I-be-happy?’ In fact, he continued, happiness is within us. We create it. We feel it through simple things in our lives. Every day!

A middle-aged father is happy seeing his granddaughter smiles, showing her first tooth. A boyfriend is happy that he could treat his girlfriend an ice cream in one sunny afternoon.  A gardener is happy that he could watch the seeds growing up in less than 7 days.

A newly wed is happy to sit side by side in silence, watching the sun goes down. A proud Mom is happy to see her boy eats vegetables and fruits instead of junk foods.

“As long as we don’t lose our hope, we can feel happiness,” he concluded.

People say, “Dream big. Think big.”

But he asked me to have a simple hope, a simple dream. Every day. It might be  ‘I hope I can drink more water instead of soda. I hope I can exercise 3 times a week. I hope I can listen more often. I hope I can write one poem every day for a week. I hope I can enjoy coffee with my old man every Saturday’ or else.

That kind of hope (which probably sounds similar like goal) makes our life more meaningful, more focused. Once it is achieved, we can celebrate the happiness. The joy. The freedom of our soul.

When we can see happiness in small things, we actually live our life to the fullest. We give the meaning to ‘why-I-was-born?’

But when the reality does not meet our hope, we should not be sad. It is a moment of learning that makes us wiser. And, surely, this is also a happiness of life.

“So tell me what is your hope?” he asked me.

“I hope I can write more, read more. It makes me more human. It sets my soul free. Yours?” I replied.

“I hope I can be a better man. Fight more. Learn more. It keeps me alive,” he answered.

And the conversation ended as the night was getting late.

My mind was suddenly filled with dreams, hopes: to write, to breathe, to feel, to listen, to give, to share, to smile, to create… to love.