Grasping onto the Curtails of Hope

It is a new year, 2014. Of course such designations are arbitrary, but that by no means makes them meaningless. On the contrary, the beginning of a new year can mean a great deal. It represents a common paradigm essential to the human condition, namely the possibility, the necessity, for a second chance, for a clean slate. We all need to believe we can be better, we all desire to know that we can change; hence the “New Year’s Resolution” on New Years Eve; complete with drunken parties, a giant falling ball of light in New York City, and promises to go to gym; to lose ten pounds; to stop eating junk food; or even to stop drinking – as the drunken parties we attend laugh along at the irony. But beneath all this pageantry and flash lies a kernel of truth; the miraculous ability for the human soul to change – those familiar with the infamous T.V. Dr. House may now scuff at my naïveté. Yet saying people can change is quite different than saying people do change. I admit most do not, at least not in any significant way. True we grow; our bodies alter with age, reach their prime, than slowly or rather abruptly break down. True we learn; our minds expand or wither with the many experiences of life. But whether or not any of this affects the soul is another matter entirely.[1] Just because our bodies change does not mean we grow stronger, just because we experience and learn, does not mean we grow wiser. To grow stronger and wiser requires more. It demands perseverance and self reflection. It insists upon that drive, which martial artists call indomitable spirit, the will to persist through perceived failure and pain. Because when one thinks deeply and breaks through the shackles of thought, which bind our minds. One realizes a simple truth: failure in its common form does not exist. It is merely an illusion born of fear, bent upon inserting its limitations, and stunting the growth of our soul.

Look at the feeble New Year’s Resolutions we make, a goal that is either too high for us to reach or too low for it to matter. But of course that is because we defeat ourselves before we even get started. We are defeated by our own failure. No one meets their goals all the time. However, as we fail to reach them again and again, we become discouraged. The longer we persist it seems the deeper we dig ourselves into the belief that we can never change that we are stuck just as we are.

Dear reader I hope you believe me when I say you are not stuck and you never were, not really. The idea was an illusion of the mind, but you can and will break free. We all have different methods, but allow me to offer these few words to help you on your path. First, discover the beauty of who you are. You are the product of millions of years of evolution, of complex genetics guided by the struggle and love of thousands of generations of ancestors long forgotten, but never lost. Your body is a marvelous biological machine of still unknown complexity, which incorporates trillions of cells working together in an intricate network of organ systems and feedback loops. And yet in this ocean of complexity, in this miraculous universe of interacting atoms and forces and physics, your life has been made quite simple. It consists merely of choices. But, my dear reader be not afraid, for it is not just one choice you are given, no. Your life consists of countless experiences and opportunities to make all sorts of decisions. Make no mistake, you are a beautiful person, a wonderful and gifted person. Many of the flaws you see are where you fail to live up to the expectations of society or even yourself. You would do well to examine them, and see if any of these expectations are worthy of your persistence or your effort, in other words if they are worthy of you. If they are not, change them. Choose the person you wish to be and go be that person. At times you will stumble, you will fall, and then you will rise again. Hold true to your ideals, there is no such thing as failure here, only setbacks, obstacles to be overcome. Let go of your fear of failure and open your heart to the possibilities of hope.

You are not alone. My friend believe these words because in them lie a truth that can change the world. What I am speaking of are your fellow human beings.[2] We all live in this world together. In our pursuit of a better life we have stumbled and we have fallen. With the dawn of 2014 we see a world ripe with war and hate. A world filled with fear and terrorism. A world of disease, and death, and pain. But, it is also a world of love and of kindness. A world where each of us everyday has an opportunity to make a small difference in someone else’s life; a smile, a hug, even a brief nod of acknowledgement. And then there are the big differences we can make; an altruist donating to charity, a surgeon removing cancer and saving someone’s life, a fireman pulling a person out of a burning house. You see my dear reader, though the human race has stumbled and fallen, so often throughout our history, we can and will get up time again. Because whenever one of us falls, there will always be many others standing by and all it takes is one to reach out and extend a hand.

So in this year 2014, do not allow society or your own fear of failure curtail your hope. Release them and rise again to each challenge you face. And when the chance comes to help another, plant your feet firmly and extend a hand, so that no one will be left in the dust. Together we can build a world worth living in, but first we must start with ourselves; by forging the people that we are all capable of being. What I am saying dear reader, is think not how you can change the world, but how you can change yourself. You can never fail, so long as you keep rising each time you fall. And you may see that as we all begin to develop ourselves the world will start developing too.


[1] Let me qualify this word “soul” as it has a lot of religious connotations. For now let us describe it as merely the essence of an individual, the emergence of consciousness. No faith in god is required here, but nor is it excluded. 

[2] If you are religious you may also believe in a higher power. This is helpful in that the idea of inter-connectivity is already planted in your mind, but it is not absolutely necessary to understand the point.