"HOPE HAS TWO BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS..."
Pic.: Sherry Haridas
“Hope has two beautiful
daughters...
Their
names are anger and courage:
anger
at the way things are,
and
courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.
-St Augustine
Whenever someone
says to me, or I say to someone, “I will pray for you,” what we, actually, try to
convey to each other is: “Friend, don’t worry; everything will be alright!”
Last night, when my wife saw me throwing my hands up in
frustration at certain present situations in my life, I, instantly, felt her
touch: “Don’t’ worry dear; everything will be alright!”
It was at night. In the day earlier, I must’ve said the
same thing to at least half-a-dozen people... my students who were anxious
about their exams, a couple-friend of mine who had just lost their six-month-old
baby, my neighbor, here, whose wife has been undergoing cancer treatment, a
dear old-student of mine who has just been laid-off by his company, a young couple whose marriage has hit the
rocks... and, this little kid here, who came to complain to me that his
playmate had given him some ‘bad words’!
If the present situations – our tough times – were to last
forever, then, none of us would've liked to continue living...
What is there to live for? What is there to work for? Why
pray... when there is no hope?
And, because – deep down in our hearts, we ‘know’ that our
tough times will never last, this very hope instills in us the ‘reason’ to live
for... And, along with this reason comes the courage to work hard... to look
forward with optimism and zest... to keep trusting and contributing, keep believing,
dreaming and loving...
So, when I throw my hands up in frustration, please whisper
into my heart, “Don’t worry dear... Everything will be alright.” And, I will do
the same, when I see your frustration... Yes, we are those two beautiful
daughters of Hope... and, we shall, always, be there for each other!
“Pray as though everything
depended on God;
Work as though
everything depended on you.”
Let’s read that again...
GERALD D’CUNHA
Comments
Rita Desai