“I hope my future’s bright like how I always dreamed, for it to be filled with love that grows and gleams,” little me said, flipping a coin onto the wishing pond. I hope I find solace on my dark, stormy days, I hope I find happiness that never has to drift away. I hope I find myself in New York City, admiring Claude Monet’s amazingly picturesque piece, or maybe in the midst of chaosness where I gather the strength to find my own peace. HOPE, a four-letter word introduced to most of us at the start of kindergarten, is what bridges the present to the future.
For once in our lives, we had all hoped and yearned for something. A dream we’ve hoped for at
every birthday wish as we blow the candle, every shooting star that peeks into Earth, every wishing well, or whenever the clock ticks exactly at Midsummer.
Years ago, I kept searching for happiness – digging up every space in every corner, untangling every knot, searching for it only to find myself in front of the mirror with these eyes staring right back at me. After a long, long while of searching for it, reaching every dead-end street and revolving around circles; it sank into me, how the happiness I’ve hoped and yearned for at every birthday wish, shooting star, and wishing well, has always been with me, all along and how it simply hid under plain sight. Exactly like how happiness decides to fill our hearts after sharing fragments of ourselves through fellowship and service, or whenever we try something new and unusual – like plotting out and taking part in an outreach activity for the school body, or simply uncovering the courage within yourself to be with people who advocate and hope for a better future like you. Throughout time, these fragments of service and care intertwine with the fabric of our lives. And as the clock makes its way back and forth, we are reminded of how hope coexists with happiness and love and how it is only yet to be found within ourselves.
In a bustling and fast-paced universe like ours – where our lives are often jam-packed with uncertainties, our commitment to lend a helping hand will always be a sanctuary and keepsake of how hope lies within our hearts, and how it is imprinted to pass on to other people whose worlds are heavy enough to handle. With all the unscrambled letters from the alphabet, matched and seamed together into one word, I’d choose the word Hope; today and on the days beyond me. With this and in time with the celebration of the New Rotary Year: Create Hope In The World, we are reminded of how we can always choose to create hope and beam light even on one’s darkest, strongest and most tidal storm.
