Yes. Life is intense right now with everything happening globally, nationally, and locally. Our hearts are hurting. Intensely. We are stretched, and our capacity is being tested even more. Just when you think you can’t possibly be stretched even more.
If you are breathing, there is hope. The fact that you are alive to question whether there is hope or not means there is hope.
The human spirit is incredible.
If a traumatized child soldier from a war-torn country can grow up to write a book called “My Life is Art” – Emmanuel Jal, then there is hope. History tells us there is hope. We aren’t living in medieval times anymore. In most parts of the world, we aren’t putting people on torture devices anymore. In most parts of the world, we aren’t burning people alive. If someone asked me if I wanted to teleport back to that time period, I’d be heading for the hills.
Our legal system isn’t perfect, but we aren’t cutting off people’s body parts anymore for crimes we feel they might have done. We aren’t drilling holes in the heads of people with mental illnesses, thinking we are letting the devil escape, and we are saving them.
We don’t want to go back in time. We want to move forward. We have come a long way.
Life is never fair, but here is the thing. Humans are wired for wanting fairness. Needing fairness. We are constantly in a state of discontent that propels us forward and forces us to never settle. Our brains are even wired to root for the underdog. It’s why we love those stories. They are so satisfying to the human spirit. And we have a lot of underdogs in history who have pivoted us in the right direction. We believe in underdogs. And they do exist. Everywhere.
Disability advocacy has come a long way. We also have a long way to go. And now….we are being even more stretched. But this certainly isn’t the worst point in history for people with disabilities.
We have so many incredible people, disabled people, allies, who are speaking up. Who are blogging, who are talking to the media, who are writing books, doing TEdTalks, who are networking, who are working behind the scenes, who are advocating, who are living a resistance by just being who they are and not bending to the “normal” social story.
We can never give up.
We can rest. We can always rest.
And when we are ready. We get back into the ring.
As long as you have a goal to learn and stretch, you are creating your own hope. Because here is the truth.
No one is coming to save you.
But if you want it, there are a lot of people who are willing to help you, guide you, listen to you, and sit with you. But in the end, you are the one making decisions about how much you advocate and how. You are responsible for your own decision-making.
You can’t wait for the system to be fair before you decide to get in the ring. It will never be fair. You wait for that, and you’ll be waiting the rest of your life. History has never provided the ideal circumstances for anyone. It’s always been imperfect, mucky and an uphill battle against all odds. Humanity will always be a “work in progress”, shall we say. We have the potential for the most intense harm anyone can ever imagine, inflicted on another human being. We also have the potential for the most love, to survive the unimaginable. Love is the highest form of energy that has shown time and time again, it overcomes all.
So, yes. There is always hope.
And the hope is always going to be inside of you.
You are wired for survival and hope.
You just need to keep breathing. And some days. That is enough. Because there is always tomorrow. Hope.