I Have Hope

By Wes Annac, Editor, Openhearted Rebellion

Depending on how you look at it, the world doesn’t always seem like the best place to live. Depending on how I look at it, my life doesn’t always seem like the best I could be leading. Somehow, against all odds, I have hope that things will get better.

There appears to be a never-ending struggle in society and in most people’s lives. Nothing is easy for any of us; the effort to merely survive takes up most of our energy and causes far too much stress.

Global conflict and ongoing environmental disaster can make the thought of a positive future seem hopeless. Why try to change anything or be a better person when humans are so carelessly destroying each other and the planet?

I lead a life that a lot of people would think is equally hopeless. Trying to survive as a writer on the internet with low income in a time when alternative viewpoints are being censored out of existence is ill-advised. Survival would be a little easier if I worked a regular job.

I’m sure some of my family are astonished that I’m surviving and paying bills every month, because I live in an entirely different world than the one they’re used to. In their world, you go to work every day to earn a paycheck. In mine, I sit at home writing about all these strange things and earn just enough money to get by.

There have been times, even recently, when I thought it was all hopeless. I asked myself what I was doing with my life and if I’ll be forced to struggle until I finally give up. I’ve told myself that I can’t go on struggling and stressing forever. Something’s got to give.

Nevertheless, I always come back and keep trying.

The same way most people think you could never survive working from home on the internet, they might think you could never change a world that doesn’t want to change.

We believers have had our share of rough days that challenge our hope for a better future. We’ve learned that people will always be themselves – even if it means they never give up their less than admirable qualities. We struggle to give up our own selfish desires, which push us further away from the world we want to see.

In spite of everything, I’m hopeful. I have hope that I can make an honest living by creating something people will appreciate. The trailblazers who’ve successfully led such an unconventional life have shown me that it’s possible if I show up, do the work, and stay consistent.

I apply this same optimism to our society. Maybe it’s because the world in front of us reflects the world within us, but here, I see an equal level of chaos and beauty. Love and hate, unity and division, all coexist here. Call me crazy, but I believe the love will outlast the hate.

However naive this will sound, especially if you’re aware of some of the darker ways the world operates; I believe people are basically good. Despite that the world operates on a basis of conflict and suppression of human rights, I think we can create more love and prosperity.

Even when reading some awful news about human trafficking or a brutal police crackdown on protestors, I have hope that we can turn this ship around. We can break thousands of years of tradition rooted in violence and conquest to make the fabled World That Works for Everyone.

I can’t tell you exactly how we’ll do it, but I know that it starts with the choice to try. From there, it will require a consistent effort as we figure out together how to make this world work.

In the face of plenty of evidence to the contrary, I have hope that my life and the world I live in will get better. This is because I have faith in my ability to make them better. As the storm clouds roll in, I’ll sit calmly knowing that this faith will get me and everyone else through the turbulence so we can enjoy clear skies.

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Featured image by ShonEjai from Pixabay

About Wes Annac:

I’m a twenty-something writer & blogger with an interest in spirituality, love, awareness, activism, and other crazy stuff. I run Openhearted Rebellion – a blog dedicated to sharing wisdom and encouraging a revolution that begins in the heart.

I also run Canna Words – a blog in which I share some of my research and opinions on cannabis. There, I write about everything from legalization to hemp and the various ways people use the cannabis plant.

I’ve contributed to a few awesome websites that include Waking Times, Wake Up World, Golden Age of Gaia, and The Master Shift. I can be found on Facebook (facebook.com/wesannac, facebook.com/cultureofawareness) and Twitter (twitter.com/Wes_Annac, https://twitter.com/love rebellion)

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