Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large. Wikipedia

I can’t believe it has been 20 years since we entered the new millennium. The year 2020 marks a new decade and for me and my wife Rose Mary, it feels like the start of a “new beginning”. In the past 5 years we have experienced a lot of joyful events, but also a lot of pain and loss.

I know everyone of you reading this reflection has also experienced great joy and grief in the recent past. My hope for you this New Year and decade ahead is for much HOPE.

I believe life without hope is meaningless. We need to look forward to something, to be excited about future possibilities. Yet some of us are living lives of “quiet desperation”; we can’t see a bright future ahead. We focus on all that is missing rather than being thankful for what we have or could have. But is having HOPE in our lives as simple as choosing what we focus on? Can we really decide to focus primarily on the positives in our lives and ignore or suppress the negatives?

I don’t know if this is true for you, but I can share my own experience in choosing to change what I focus on. In February we will be moving into a new home. For the past few years, Rose Mary has been gently suggesting she’d like us to downsize and simplify our home lives. I was not at all interested. I would often tell Rose Mary, “I love our current home and don’t want to leave it for many years. Besides, how we can leave our home with so many family memories? Memories of your parents while they were alive. Memories of raising our boys here. And how can we leave the home where our deceased son Chris built the backyard deck and trellis with his carpenter’s hands?”