Tuesday, May 17, 2011

One word that stands strong in all of us...

The title to this entry is a quote from one of my program participants. He's a guy with a serious mental illness. He talks slow, shuffles along because of his medications, often has the worst hair days, wears a heavy Packer jacket - even in summer. The word he's referring to? Hope.

Today he came in to say hello and I made a comment about the blue sky and the sunshine which had been eluding us for the past week. He said, "Maybe it will warm up today." I replied, "I hope so!"

He thought for a long time, a thoughtful look in his eyes and said, "That's one word that stands strong in all of us."

I know our conversation was about the weather but, at that moment, I knew he was talking about so much more. And I have to tell you, it always give me hope to know that even these down trodden, ill, struggling individuals I work with have a strong sense of hope. Hope that there's something better. Hope that today will be a good day. Hope that someone will give them a smile or a kind hello.

We all have hope. I like that.

1 comment:

Paul E. Vagnoni said...

I love it when you blog about your experiences with work. They always make me think about what is really important. Thank you.