to cherish a desire with anticipation
to desire with expectation of obtainment
to expect with confidence
(from Webster's online dictionary)
I've heard the word my whole life.
I've probably heard it eleventy-hundred-billion times more since Sam's first diagnosis.
Hope.
It can be incredibly powerful to hang onto hope...when you really don't have much else to go on.
Or it can be nothing. A breath in the wind that floats away.
I've gotten attached to the following phrase: "data-based hope."
It puts together two ideas that I'm fond of:
Science
and
Prayer.
Our doctors have a lot of science on their side. A lot of experience and data.
And then there's the unknown. The who-knows-what-will-happen and how it happens and why it happens and when it happens.
And then there's the letting go -- the sinking into that puffy fluffy soft and warm cloud of hope. Cherishing a desire....with anticipation....expecting and waiting and believing that it will come true...
hope.
The Jewish month of Elul, which precedes the High Holy Days, is traditionally a time of renewal and reflection. It offers a chance for spiritual preparation for the Days of Awe. It is traditional to begin one’s preparation for the High Holy Days during this month with the Selichot, the prayers of forgiveness. We look to begin the year with a clean slate, starting anew, refreshed. All month, along with others, I'll be blogging a thought or two for each day to help with the month of preparation... I will be blogging here, and sharing #Elulgram photos on the same themes at imabima.tumblr.com. Follow me on twitter @imabima for all the #BlogElul posts, not only mine but others' as well! This year, I'm not doing a linky or anything like that -- I'm conserving energy! So be sure to tag your posts on Twitter and Facebook so I can catch them with my alerts....
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