High Hopes

On the night before Father’s Day I discovered something special my son had left in my bedroom. It was a check with a note on top which read: “just take it.” But, unbeknownst to both of us the best gift was a poem on the flip side of his note. This is what it said:

Hopes
Hopes are the dreams of our future.
Ideas we wish were given life.
How is it that we never fight for our ideas?
Maybe because we realize they could never be.
Or it could be that we do not want to fight for them.
Sitting and thinking requires little action.
I believe that most hopes fall apart because of laziness.
My hope is that I will be motivated to work.
So when the end comes I will not have to wonder what could have been.
I hope to follow the calling wherever it leads from now till the end.
To death if I am called.
I hope that I will do more than just think these words.
So that when the time comes my hopes will become reality.
~ Jordan S. Swavely

Funny how the best advice often comes from the least expected sources. My son wrote this during his senior year in high school and it seems to sum up where I am right now. For so long I had hopes of writing a book, but no matter how hard I tried it just didn’t seem to work out. Then this past May I tore my quad and a friend suggested I start this blog. Now, whether or not my hopes of a book are realized, I am doing what I truly enjoy, writing. And just perhaps it will encourage someone along the way.

Everybody has hopes, but as my son said, “Sitting and thinking requires little action,” so we must be willing to fight for our hopes till they become reality.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Swavel