your hope is a burden - a message to my generation
photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@ronsmithphotos
this phrase woke me up yesterday like an announcement over a loudspeaker and i couldn’t shake it.i've been thinking a lot about the state of our world and how we got here, especially as i returned to bone-dry California after a trip to visit my children and granddaughter in Colorado. i keep hearing so many people say with relief that life is "going back to normal" and i just want to shake them and say, "we can't afford to go back to normal!" and when i often hear people like me say to younger folx that they're the hope for the future, i swear i want to scream. i get that they think they're offering compliment to their strength, intelligence and resilience. but honestly, it feels like a huge cop-out. in the end, i'm not hopeLESS, but i am realistic that we have a LOT of work ahead of us and my generation has a shit-ton of unlearning and growing up to do. we better get to it.
your hope is not a
gift. your hope is a burden.
it does not lift up
anything other
than your longing for relief
from the pain you can
no longer deny.
you know we have come too far
to keep it under
the surface. we are
past the point of return. there
is no going back
to normal. there is
no such thing. not a new one,
not an old one. that
is a fantasy.
you know you've relied on it
to soothe your chronic
guilt at leaving this
mess we've made to our children
and theirs. do not lay
your so-called hope for
the future at their feet. that
is a trophy they
do not want, relish
or deserve. shame on you for
even thinking that
would be an honor.
such hypocrisy. rather,
give them your deeds, your
choices to live more
simply so they may simply
live. give them your words
of truth, your grief, your
fears, your raging at yourself
(and all you have done
and not done). but not
without honest, shameless (for
shame serves no one), most
humble amends for
all you’ve taken from them in
taking for granted
all that you have, all
you knew and did nothing (if
not enough) before
this. have i got your
complete attention now? are
you opening your
culpable ears? are
you wiping the tears of shame
(for shame serves no one)
and self-pity from
your face as you open your
eyes to this truth? did
you think hope would get
you through this? i get it. i
know the danger of
living with Hope as
my great perceived protector,
its insidious
companionship a
comfort for my wayward mind.
but do not trust this
deceiver. rip off
the bandage. it does not serve
your humanity.
give up hope. give up
your petty powerlessness.
stand tall and hold out
your hands to those in
whom you have placed hope and walk
with them to the end.
also, here are two links that have been informing my contemplation and conversations lately… I wouldn’t say "enjoy them,” but i’m curious to hear your thoughts. https://www.propublica.org/article/climate-change-will-force-a-new-american-migration and https://projects.propublica.org/climate-migration. blessings to all.
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