Keep Hope Alive

By Frank Zaccari

Jessie Jackson during his Presidential campaign often said, “Keep hope alive.” We all have a vision or a dream of our perfect or ideal life. Without hope, that vision and the dream will die. 

2020 has made many people lose hope. 2020 has brought a great deal of chaos and unwanted change to the world. The COVID crisis, unemployment, looming recession, shelter in place, quarantine, working from home, and home schooling have forced us all to change.

We all know the only constant in life is change, yet change is the one thing most people fear. Why? Because it is the fear of the unknown. People like stability and change disrupts stability. How is the change going to impact my life, my job, my income, my family? It is frustrating and depressing, but we will get through 2020 and enjoy a positive, productive life again, if we continue to keep hope alive.

My mantra for 2021 is Great Achievements Comes from Great Adversity. 2020 gave us more than enough great adversity. Yet dispute this adversity, we have the opportunity to re-evaluate, reflect and reinvent both our lives and our outlook on life. 

If you are like most people, prior to 2020 there was never time to re-evaluate and reflect. We would get out of bed before sun rise and jump on treadmill of life that constantly went faster and faster. By the end of the day we go to bed too exhausted to get any real rest and get up in a few hours and start again. We weren’t living, we were existing. I know, I’ve been there. 

Now amid all the chaos we are facing, I have been able to talk with a number of people who are using this time to look inwardly in the hope of finding a sense of calm and peace and meaning. These people have said me, “Do I even want to return to my old normal, my old job, my old habits, with all the stress and anxiety?” They want, as my good friend Gina Mazza says, to be alive with a “capital A.” There has to be a better way. Maybe this is the opportunity to change. But how do we change? What do we change? And the real question – Do we really want to change?

The current state of the world has brought us to an inflection point. Some people and organizations have thrown up the hands and said why bother – I don’t see a silver lining or a light at the end of the tunnel. Fortunately, many more people believe everything happens for a reason and are grateful for the lessons they are learning and the opportunities that are being presented. Many have used this opportunity to accomplish things on their “someday list.” I wrote a book, The Secret to Walking on Water – Is to Know Where the Rocks Are.

Bob Marley said “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.” We can and we must summon our inner strength and make 2021 and future the best years of our life. By keeping hope alive, staying engaged and involved, taking positive actions that cost us nothing like a simple act of kindness, compassion and participating in meaningful dialogue we will change our life and our world. We will not all agree, but we all can try to understand each other without the rage and vitriol. It just takes one moment in time by one person at a time to make our life and our world a better place. I will never lose hope because I know we will make this happen. 

My wish for everyone is that 2021 will be the greatest year of your life.

Category: Blog