life – Hope's Cafe

Sparks in the Dark

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

In a previous blog several weeks ago, I made reference to a book I had discovered and intended to order called Hope in the Dark. Since receiving it, I have been steadily working my way through it, not so much seeking answers as seeking anchors, something solid in this current murky morass.

Published in 2004, the time frame in which author Rebecca Solnit wrote was in the early days of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Thanksgiving before President Bush led us into that quagmire, my brother, who was visiting us at the time, said he thought all the rhetoric was “just a lot of saber rattling.” But before it was over one of his sons would do multiple tours there and now suffers from PTSD. Unforeseen consequences? Apparently so, as 82% of the country supported the invasion, at least initially. Eighteen percent of us bore the mantle laid on us of “unpatriotic.”

Yet Solnit sifts though the circumstances like a beachcomber finding the ocean’s treasures left behind amid the litter. The litter is most certainly there but we are remiss if that is all to which we give our attention. In her opening, Solnit refers to Virginia Woolf’s statement that: “The future is dark, which is on the whole, the best thing the future can be” which the author interprets to be dark as inscrutable rather than terrible. She notes that we often mistake the one for the other and elaborates: “Or we transform the future’s unknowability into something certain, the fulfillment of our dread, the place beyond which there is no way forward. But again and again, far stranger things happen than the end of the world.”

The context eludes me now, but I came across the term “sparks in the dark” this week and latched onto it. “Sparks” conveys energy, an energy that is the fuel of hope. Hope inspires action, whether quiet or bold, even when that action may be simply putting one foot in front of the other. Despair is hope that has run out of fuel. The antidote is movement. I think of the fellow in the Bible described as lying by the pool of Bethesda, “hoping for a miracle” that the waters reputed for healing powers would stir and he could be cured and mobile again. But as the story unfolds, Jesus says, “Arise, take up thy bed and walk!”

I offer some encouragement for the journey:

“Hope is the small light that insists the path ahead is still possible.” – Grace Ellison “When you plant hope, you harvest courage to face tomorrow.” – Marcus Reed “Hope whispers that the worst moment is only a chapter, not the whole story.” – Amelia Brown

Insist on Hope read the church marquis this week. Let us insist. Let us persist.

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter. Shalom, Kate

Chain of Gratitude

(Please note: Somehow the quote last week about setbacks did not actually come through when published. It was: “Giving up on a goal is like slashing your other three tires because you got a flat.”

And the blog previous to that included a quote attributed to Albert Camus. I discovered the only sentence that he actually wrote was: “In the depth of winter I finally learned that there lay within me an invincible summer.” Whie the rest was quite lovely, some anonymous person elaborated. My apologies for both lapses in my postings.)

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Café

A dear friend sent me a piece from the New York Times by Melissa Kirsch describing Kirsch’s gratitude practice. Looking to find a fresh approach to the acknowledgement of gratitude, she developed what she calls a “chain of gratitude.” In this gratitude practice, I might give thanks for the fresh cup of coffee I am holding and think of all that went into the making of that coffee, the process that got it to the grocery store, the fact that I had the money to purchase it, the opportunities I’ve had to share a cup with my spouse, with friends. The cup itself reminds me that it was the gift from a friend. I think of all the ways she has been a kind companion through life’s journey.

Tracing a gratitude back to its origin and then forward, I could give thanks for the gift of writing, I could recall how I was encouraged from a young age. I began to show an interest in writing in the fourth grade when some poetry was introduced to us in school. My parents affirmed my early efforts. My father, a printer on the newspaper, brought home end rolls of printer paper on which I began to write stories. My sixth grade teacher would allow me to read my stories to the class. She encouraged the class when we expressed a desire to start a school newspaper and helped us through that process. She became a mentor throughout my life.

In high school I became editor of the school newspaper and throughout college I worked for public relations departments and school newspapers. Along the way I had honorable mention in a story contest and a poem published. At a church where I was a member I offered to write a column for the newsletter. One friend there suggested I should write a book of devotionals. I lived with that thought for years and eventually wrote one. But I knew nothing about publishing. As I was sitting next to a friend at a dinner for chaplains, I suddenly recalled she wrote for a magazine. I asked her if she might have any suggestions for where I might send my book for consideration. Yes, she did! The group she wrote for was just starting to publish books. I went home, sent my proposal to them and heard back the next day!

Along the way I have had writer friends who have encouraged me. This chain of gratitude seems endless and includes the very people who are reading this. I often feel I should give this blog up because I don’t feel it lives up to my standard for my best effort. You deserve better from me, more of my time devoted to writing it well. But when I “make noises” like I might quit, someone will offer some response that keeps me going. Thank you so much for the time you take to read my posts! I am grateful for you!

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter. Shalom, Kate

Recalculating

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Cafe

Once when I was working for Hospice of Chattanooga, I had a first appointment with a new client. My car’s GPS malfunctioned, sending me miles around my destination when I had been very nearly there.

This week my brain mimicked my car’s GPS that scrambled day seeking my client’s home. I had nearly begged the receptionist at the doctor’s office for what was a time-sensitive appointment, one critical for medical clearance needed for an upcoming surgery. On the way to the appointment, I realized I was going to be nearly an hour early. I made a fateful decision to do a quick trip through Costco instead of waiting till after the doctor appointment as I had planned.

All was fine until I came out of Costco and mistakenly went straight where I should have turned to get back on the interstate. Suddenly I was in totally unfamiliar territory, with very little time till I was due at the doctor’s. There was no means to call because I had forgotten my phone when I left that morning. Frantic, I totally forgot that the doctor’s address was stored in my GPS from a previous trip.

I drove for miles before I recognized the road where the office is located, calculating and recalculating what direction to take. By then I was so very late that I had to be rescheduled.

Recalculation by definition is calculating something again either to correct errors or to consider additional information. In the course of living, we can encounter those “forks in the road” where we recalculate our direction. I am in one of those spaces now as I approach the fifth anniversary of this blog (May 1). Conceived during the pandemic to do something constructive in a time when any routines we had were upended, and to keep myself writing regularly, I hoped a byproduct would be to offer something uplifting in a time of uncertainty.

Though the pandemic is behind us, uncertain times are even more prevalent. The need to find what provides a counterbalance is even more necessary. But my “recalculations” include adding into the mix that the results of this surgery may well limit my ability to provide a weekly blog.

If a new blog doesn’t appear, or I re-publish a previous one, keep in mind that I am “recalculating,” seeking direction going forward while I focus on my recovery.

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter. Shalom, Kate