Hope
There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.Orison Swett Marden
Our dear friend, Hal was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease about 6 or 7 years ago. Once or twice a year he sees a Fortune-Teller named Fanny Frueholtz. A few years ago, Fanny told Hal that she foresees him becoming part of a traveling lecture circuit to talk about life after the cure. Whether this ever comes to pass or not doesn't really matter right now. What matters is that Hal gets out of bed every day believing that he'll survive this horrendous disease. He can talk about the sorts of things he’ll tell the people in his future audiences. When he frames it like that, he can maintain his pride because it doesn’t seem so much like complaining.
Hal isn’t a stupid or simple man. He’s very intelligent, well-read and experienced. However, if Hal believes Fanny, he simply needs to be patient and endure the crummy symptoms for a while … maybe not much longer. I imagine that's especially helpful on days when he's too shaky to drive, or the weeks and months on end when he doesn’t get much more than an hour or two of sleep a day, or times when he gets gawked at while out in public.
One of these days, I should send Fanny Frueholtz a big bunch of flowers and a thank you note. She gave our sweet, sweet friend something those of us who Love him haven’t been able to give him.
Hope
It’s a beautiful gift.
posted by Theresa @ 8/09/2005 09:50:00 AM
5 Comments:
Lovely quote to go with a lovely story.
I hope (see? I hope a lot...all the time) Hal stays strong.
Life is hope...that's truly what I believe.
There is not much in life that we can get for free and that we own outright except for HOPE. In a world that is ruled by greed and evil, HOPE is the one thing that can propel us towards a better and stronger tomorrow.
I also believe that there is a correlation between HOPE and a higher power. For myself, if it were not for God I would have no HOPE. I often find that when I feel that I am lacking in HOPE, I'm lacking in my faith. Lately, my Hope has almost run empty. However, I now recognize that some evil power is keeping me from my faith and as I reach out to my God my HOPE is refuling. I HOPE!
Yours Truly,
NCHortStud
Fortune-tellers are the shit! Actually, they tend to tell you what you already know, after you've already found the answer yourself. Since he has hope, it's already in him to keep going.
Stacie - Spitting in a Wishing Well
Hope gives you purpose,
Hope keeps you going,
Hope is what helps me get up everyday.
Wonderful story T!
Hope can be so friggin' elusive. Its cool he has this thing. I'll look forward to his lecture circuit bringing him through Chicago. . .
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