The New Hope

Life is sometimes like a bowl of cherries...other times it's like a chair of bowlies....know what I mean?
Upside down, backwards and inside out....it arrives at the doorstep some mornings like a disheveled newspaper thrown hap-hazard under a bush, then peed on by the neighbor's dog. 

Hey, I'm not complaining, we all gotta pee, it's just why all over a defenseless newspaper? What did it ever do? Oh, I get it...the old kill the messenger routine.

Sometimes I do feel like turning off the news and pretending I'm not part of the planet. Between the wars, oil spills, political postulating and commercials there's very little alternate content for those who've had all they can take for a while.

Maybe there should be a new cable or satelite t.v. network for folks like me-the PTSD station. No lie, it might just be what the head doctor ordered!  24/7 programmable Prozac.  Maybe that's what a lot of the reality shows are all about. Some folks get so wrapped up in it to the point where there is nothing else to life but watching others live it.  But hey, each to their own.

I'm no guru on a mountain spewing forth with any new wisdom here...even Helen Keller would be able to see that things aren't sitting right with our world. Pundits from every crack in the woodwork are weighing in on how awful everything is, who's to blame and how-as soon as they take power-things are gonna change.

One of my favorite songs sums that all up nicely for me-"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss..."
At the same time, I don't want to be apathetic.  The pendulum does swing, after all...problem is, I'm not too thrilled about the direction it seems to be heading.

The word "liberal" is said with extra vehemence these days...all of the nations' problems are blamed on "progressive" thinkers, and we're told to fall to our knees quickly...to repent of our evil thoughts before it's too late. The pending elections will be telling a story of disenchantment and disappointment.  Many incumbents will not be returning to their seats....according to the folks on t.v. news.

So with all this whirlwind going on, what could Fifty Five possibly mean to me?
I think we need to walk carefully, think clearly, not give away elections and think it's all going to blow over.  Not this time....there's a different feeling to the political spin, it not only has fangs-it now has venom too. We need to guard our hard-won freedoms and be responsive when those less fortunate than ourselves are made into scapegoats.

These times are some of the hardest yet, as much for the physical and financial difficulties, as it is for the internal stuff. Our spirits need to find light through the clouds of confusion and find hope. Real hope, not hype.

So for today, Fifty Five is the New Hope...because we sure need it!