There was a wonderful article in todays paper about an autistic daughter and her mothers determination that she would have a life and would be fulfilled. She's written a book..A Thorn in my Pocket. I loved what she said about hope.

"Never give up hope. Hope is different than control. It's not Hallmark cards - oh, it's all going to be all right - it's really a bet. You check out the odds, and you place your bet. That's how I describe hope."

Eustacia Cutler is the author and mother of Temple Grandin who has a master's degree from Arizona State and a doctorate for University of Ill.

Never give up hope!

HOPE is often confused with optimism.... things don't always turn out OK...
but HOPE sees ALL...
the failures and potentials...
Possibilities.......


Hope was topic of PBS show-- the New Medicine....
the role HOPE played in Health, Healing...
even in crises situations...
how Hope was 'used' in medical scenarios, situations...
how powerful HOPE can be, IS...

HOPE...

((Alffe)) ((Pono))

I keep thinking of the perfect storm analogy. You know there are many storms in this life we just can't weather. I know I can't. Hope is the life preserver we need to hold onto. At times it gets lost in the cold relentless water.. but it is always there, within our reach, we only need to try to find it.

I wish, Dad had tried harder. I wish, when he couldn't hold on any longer, he had given me the chance, the honor, to hold on for him.

That can be the hardest thing to do sometimes, unfortunately....

Bump...because....

(((Alffe)))) thanks for BUMP-- resurrecting this HOPE thread
because......

A ship ought not to be held by one anchor, nor life by a single hope.
~ Epictetus

Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what is still possible for you to do.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Hope, like the gleaming taper's light, Adorns and cheers our way; And still, as darker grows the night, Emits a brighter ray.
~ Oliver Goldsmith

"The ultimate irony of faith is that it necessarily admits doubt. It is the belief in things not seen. It is beyond our capacity as human beings to know with certainty what God has planned for us or what He asks of us, and those of us who believe must trust that His wisdom is greater than our own. This doubt should not push us away from our faith. But it should humble us. It should temper our passions, and cause us to be wary of self-righteousness."

President Obama, speaking at Notre Dame commencement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcE1CzQhvl0

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archive...age-at-a-time/

I really need to make a habit of reading at Psych. Central more often.
Thanks Doc.