Hope

Hope is what you have when you can't see giving up.
It sustains you and keeps you on the right path.
It takes the edge off of what they call hopelessness.
It's a kind of pretending that allows you to go on with daily living.
It lets you breathe just a little easier and try a little longer.
Hope springs eternal, is that the saying?
I kind of don't even know what that means.
I know what it means to hold out hope.
To keep hope alive. That kind of hope is tangible.
That's the kind of hope you have when you know things have to change.
It's not ambiguous or so far off that you don't know it's not coming.
Hope is freeing, allows the tension to become bearable.
It eases pain, and nurtures patience.
It doesn't stifle, or hold you down.
It doesn't cloud your judgement or make you wonder.
Hope is what allows you to look to a better future.
A better outcome than the one you're faced with at present.
Hope is change, hope is good, hope just is.

So when do you know that hoping and wishing and wanting
isn't going to make what you need to happen manifest.
When is giving up alright.
When is it ok to stop fighting and settle?
When do I get to breathe again?

Today I was told that a real success
is not someone who has never failed,
but someone who does not quit.

I won't quit.