Blog 2

If you are a returning reader, thanks.  If you are a new reader, join us as we reach for Audacious Hope.  

Have you allowed yourself to consider what audacious hope might look like in your life?  Just for a moment let’s review the definition:  Intrepid boldness to cherish a desire with anticipation, bold disregard of normal restraints to desire something with expectation of obtainment, adventurous expectation with confidence. Could this even be possible in your life or the lives of those you love?  What would it look like to live daily with this type of hope?  Ok, if daily is too much to reach for right now, how about occasionally.  An occasional glimpse of audacious hope will give you the courage to continue taking the next step in your life, and the energy to get out of bed one more day and face the detours you will encounter on your journey.

Someone I know coined the phrase “Embrace resistance” (Thanks Mike Back).  When it was shared with me I was a bit resistant.  Who in their right mind would want to wrap their arms around something that was uncomfortable or even possibly painful?  It did not sound very attractive to me.  What could I/you learn by pulling something difficult close in?  According to the wise sayings of Solomon, hope deferred makes the heart sick.   Deferred means to be withheld for or until a stated time.  When hope is withheld it brings stagnation to the part of us that is spirit and seeks newness and growth and longs for more.  If that part of us that is the essence of our being is stagnant, it affects our energy, our thinking, our ability to perform tasks, our relationships and virtually every area of life.   Have you seen a healthy tree or plant whose roots, the unseen part, have been damaged?  It does not take long before the plant or tree will wither and die.  The plant above ground continues to look healthy for a while but soon the effect of the damage shows in a deterioration of the vegetation.  That is the process that happens when our hope is deferred whether it is due to resistance or changes in life circumstances that are beyond our control.   We continue to look the same and are productive for a period of time but eventually the effects of deferred hope spread throughout the various facets of our life.  Could you imagine changing the course of your current challenges by “embracing” the difficulty, learning from it, using it to help others on their journey and letting it reshape you into the person you are destined to be?

If doing what you have always done has you trapped in the prison of mediocrity, are you ready to summon your courage from its slumber and take a step toward exceptionality?  Your journey must be intentional.  It must be initiated.  It must be pursued.  It will remain elusive if your pursuit is void of tenacity.  The tenacity it takes to wrestle with and embrace “the exceptional” is no ordinary effort.  The bane of mediocrity must be harnessed to drive you in the direction of something new, something unknown, and something that may defy reason and sensibility.  That kind of drive is the catalyst for creativity, ingenuity, discovery, solutions, and newness.  I often think of a line from the movie, “The Matrix”: “Neo, do you want the blue pill or the red pill?”  This step, this journey toward exceptionality is definitely found on the ‘other side’ of the red pill.

Today will you dare to dream about exceptionality?  Will you embrace resistance just a bit?  Will you continue to reach toward audacious hope?  Consider some intentional change as you reawaken your courage.

See you next time…Sojourner13