Listen to the hope holders
The hope holders do not look alike, or sound alike. They may never meet each other as they move in different circles. And yet the hope holders draw from the same pool, breath the same air and hold the same hope.
You can hear the faith in Duyen’s voice. The faith and the enthusiasm for the waterfall of change she knows is coming. "I just feel that humans are geared for hope you know. I see that in my day to day work with community...It takes someone to believe it and then a second person and then a third person and the next thing you know politicians are changing their lines, communities are out in force and it started with a couple of conversations”
Joe is a hope holder too. “I see that everyday, that’s how change gets made . . . people who are proven in their bravery. . . people who are prepared to put in the intellectual and physical rigour to take the knock backs and keep showing up and to do it better and cleverer each iteration . . .surrounded by people who don’t always agree necessarily, but who have their back.”
And Charlie: “There’s more than enough goodwill around to change the world in a positive way. . . we’re just knocked around the heads everyday with economic stories of despair and global terrorism and environmental disaster, all of which can be quite real from day to day. But there is also extraordinary change happening at a very micro local level people trying to improve other people’s lives… people doing good work all over the place that need to be honoured and celebrated in a different way.”
Even those who don’t speak directly of hope, hold hope in some form. Take Simon, he’s in his late thirties and has been working in the warehouse of a large supermarket chain for years now. He’s moved back to Tasmania because life is cheaper and less of his money and time is swallowed up commuting. Far from being a rabble rouser he keeps his head down and enjoys his beer and bbq’s with family. Simon’s also pretty certain we need our political parties to be ‘more courageous’ and actually have a vision and then stick to it. Listening to Simon, the hope comes from knowing just how deeply people care.
Each of these hope-holders have their own moments of despair; their dark times when powerful forces determined to maintain the status quo seem unconquerable.
And yet… and yet…
We’re geared for hope and so they go on. Actively working for the more beautiful world they know is possible.