Holding on to Hope

Gosh it feels hard to start writing. I've been doing some tidying up on my website and realised it's been just under two months since I last wrote.. well, we can all figure that one out.

7th October 2023.

It feels disrespectful somehow to write about anything else, and yet I don't feel I need to, or want to, add to the words and images and thoughts and opinions that have been flowing, spitting, churning out since then.

But the cycle of time turns and turns, and here we are, in the middle of Chanukah -the Jewish festival of light - adding another flame, another light in the dark, another beacon of... of what? I guess we can all fill in the gap with our own mindful intention that we can see in the chanukah candles this year.

For me, it's hope.

My belief in hope has been tested over these last few weeks. I'm sure that resonates for you too. And yet, we are still here. We are still able to make choices; choices as to how we react, who we listen to, where we place our feet, what we type on our social media feeds.

Perhaps now more than ever is the time to hope - actively hope - through our actions and words.

Let's build a better world. A world where we can listen with respect and open mindedness, where we listen not to reply with our own truths, but to be moved to deepen our understanding by truly hearing the truths of others.

Let's hold on to hope for a better world, and begin to build it together.

Here's a pic taken last night of me and my good friend, vicar Heston, at the Leeds interfaith chanukah candle lighting in the Leeds Civic Hall. This one's for you, Heston, who never gives up on hope, and won't let me, either.