Dear Compadres,
The name Hope has always felt to me like it comes with a certain weight. It's the kind of name you can live up to or crumble under the pressure from. It's not just a name, it's a commonly used word. A common word that can inspire, carry people's dreams and wishes or be the light in the dark. The reason I bring all this up is because yesterday I stumbled upon a dictionary definition of hope. It included two words that I didn't expect to see. Trust and confidence. Really? Hope isn't just some whimsical thought? There's trust and confidence involved in it. Oy. The name just got a little heavier.
When I came across this definition I had taken a break from making calendars of my photography for my family as Christmas presents. This is something I do each year and each year I struggle to pick out 12 pictures that I deem worthy of printing. Mind you I have literally taken hundreds of pictures, a lot of them I love, but when I think about giving them to others my confidence and trust that they will be liked goes out the window. And with the coincidental, or ironic, timing of the meaning of hope, it's sort of given me an identity crisis. Can I be named Hope and not emulate the essence of it's meaning? Okay, deep breath, I think it's important not to panic. I've made it 36 years without crumbling under the weight of the name so I must be doing something right. I suppose without the trust and confidence that something good can happen there would be no hope. And a world without hope would be pretty bleak.
So perhaps the lesson here is this. That I just need to hope, with trust and confidence, that in the calendars that I made and in life in general I'm doing my best to put forth the essence of my name. To be Hope I have to have hope. I got it now!
(Hey Mom, did you ever consider naming me Seth anyway?)
Until next time...
Peace & Love,
Hope
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