Hope in Times of Trouble

With the recent economic news, I've become concerned that there is too much fear and not enough hope in our country. Even though our leaders keep saying that we'll endure the present crisis, it seems to me that they say it without the FIRE that would inspire people to believe!

In recovery, hope is sometimes the only thing we can hang our hats on. It is not just a word, but a state of mind, a way of living, a reason to breathe and walk and talk and live when our bodies and minds are in a state of rebellion and insanity. Hope is a must.

So today I'd like to share some hope and banish some fear in the form of a thought expressed by William George Jordan.

"Happiness is the greatest paradox in Nature. It can grow in any soil, live under any conditions. It defies environment. It comes from within; it is the revelation of the depths of the inner life as light and heat proclaim the sun from which they radiate. Happiness consists not of having, but of being; not of possessing, but of enjoying. It is the warm glow of a heart at peace with itself. A martyr at the stake may have happiness that a king on his throne might envy. Man is the creator of his own happiness; it is the aroma of a life lived in harmony with high ideals. For what a man has, he may be dependent on others; what he is, rests with him alone. What he obtains in life is but acquisition; what he attains is growth. Happiness is the soul's joy in the posession of the intangible. Absolute, perfect, continuous happiness in life is impossible for the human. It would mean the consummation of attainments, the individual consciousness of a perfectly fulfilled destiny. Happiness is paradoxical because it may coexist with trial, sorrow and poverty. It is the gladness of the heart, rising superior to all conditions...Man might possess everything tangible in the world and yet not be happy, for happiness is the satisfying of the soul, not of the mind or the body."

Today is a day for happiness. Today is a day for hope.