High Hopes

 

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. 

               -- John 1:5 (NRSV)

News over this past weekend was all about the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.  For many years, Syria, with borders on many of the Middle Eastern nations, has existed as an enclave of torture, war, and vile disregard for the dignity of human beings.  Tens of thousands of refugees have fled.  Thousands have reportedly been murdered in subhuman prison conditions.  Light in Syria under Assad's rule has been grimly dim.  

Anne Applebaum from the Atlantic wrote this (as reported by Heather Cox Richardson):

...the end of the Assad regime creates something new, and not only in Syria.  There is nothing worse than hopelessness, nothing more soul-destroying than pessimism, grief, and despair.  The fall of the Russian-Iranian-backed regime suddenly offers the possibility of change.  The future might be different. And that possibility will inspire hope all around the world."

Cynics dismiss hope as futile.  They discount it as a fool's errand. Yet for the human spirit the truth is without hope despair wins. We know that in those contemplating suicide, the last straw that triggers the act itself is the absolute sense of despair about overcoming one's situation.

Human beings are not just a bundle of biochemical processes packaged in skin.  We are extraordinarily unique in that while possessing the physicality for life, we also have mental and spiritual sides that add value, meaning, and purpose to our lives. The spirit part of a person is that part where hope exists.  Hope embraces the far larger perspective on possibility, on one's freedom to pursue those possibilities,  and to realize the euphoria of being conjoined with the ultimate successes of love.   

Advent and Christmas being placed as they are in the northern latitudes' darkest time of year can be the infusion of hope.  These religious holidays call to us from bleakness to envision the possibility bought by the freedom we each have to make life-changing decisions.  To see the world in a much larger dimension outside our personal situation. To commit ourselves to care about the world and the suffering people it harbors.  To generously reach for kindness, peace, joy, and lovingkindness.  In those small acts are the very seeds of hope. Hope that through love, a broken world can change, develop, and overcome the hostile rollercoaster humans are prone to.