Finding Hope
Page 20
Down around her feet, in the shallowest of water, the two porpoises laid looking out from inside the sea. Hope sat up and rubbed the baby’s head softly. She then looked into the purest green eyes of the quiet, resting mother. She exhaled gently vibrating the water around her snout, creating bubbles and shimmers all along the surface. Hope’s spirit smiled. The mammals slowly pushed away moving back into the depths, feeling the connections they shared. Hope watched them glide away from the coastline and into the sea swimming to the horizon that was painted in brilliant orange and turquoise.
Hope thought of Isaac, but the bitterness was dull. The memories were there but were softened somehow. She also thought of Julian and her time in that town. She realized that pain was also drifting from a distance. It wasn’t that she’d forgotten about the love and moments shared with her children. It was just that she’d taken those memories and pulled them in close. She felt pain deeply but was able to accept it as her own. It was part of her story and made her who she was. She’d always carried them with her through everything she did, and that thought brought her solace.
She thought about New Providence, and the wonders they’d accomplished. Even though they stumbled on a secret, they missed the point of being human. She knew it was the Law that allowed for so many great things, yet it didn’t consider human connections. It was created by man to provide justice for the few. Their obsession with structure and repair of their surroundings left them vulnerable to corruption and abuse.
“Understanding our connections isn’t enough either,” she thought to herself remembering the Mystics. Without rules and a compass, one inevitably becomes lost. The focus on self-improvement can quickly become selfish, and then we lose our connections to the people we love. Chapel Hill understood about community with their structure and guidelines. But leaving things to chance is a dangerous path. Building a foundation based on nothing but faith can leave us alone at the mercy of fate.
Hope sat on the beach watching the colors in the sky deepen as the saturation of dusk approached from the east. She felt her body stiffen as a realization crept into her mind. Life is about who we are and where we live. Like the rabbit, we need to know our surroundings and not get distracted from life. It’s about community where we live, not some far-away place. Helping each other with mutual respect allows us to stay humble while making us strong. When we lose sight of what’s important and become distracted by far away things, we not only lose our neighbors but also a piece of ourselves. Local community, local resources, and local leadership are the ways we bind ourselves together. Without these things, we lose our humanity and forever wander, alone.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Desperation
Chapter 2 The Forgotten Plains
Chapter 3 Of Love and Loss
Chapter 4 The Burning Sky
Chapter 5 New Providence
Chapter 6 Lost and Found
Chapter 7 Transitions
Chapter 8 The Mystics
Chapter 9 Ocean City
Chapter 10 Restore and Remember
Chapter 11 The Beast in the Mist
Chapter 12 Chapel Hill
Chapter 13 A New Life
Chapter 14 Finding Strength
Chapter 15 Coming Home
Chapter 16 Re-connect