And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest sea,
Yet never in extremity
It asked a crumb of me.
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)
I always entertain great hopes.
--Robert Frost
In our honest journey, we must admit life is often difficult and painful. But these facts do not describe all of life, and they do not determine how we respond.
The sun rises warm and bright after a cold and dark night. The open, generous smile of a small child reaches into the soft part of us all. To be strong and hardy on this path, we must be truthful about the pain and unfairness in life while holding firmly to a belief in all the generous possibilities.
Surrendering to despair, we trade the uncertainty of options for the certainty of gloom. Then we might say, "At least I'm never disappointed this way." Life isn't filled only with difficulty and pain. It is also filled with people whose dignity and spirit rise above their circumstances. These are situations when great sacrifice or love and wisdom turn a problem into an opportunity and a strength. If we look at what has happened in our own lives and in those of others, we have ample reason to hope.
From the book Touchstones - A Book of Daily Meditations for Men