Let's Talk About... Hope

Hope. How can a simple word be just that... simple... but maintain such a commanding presence? 

Especially as teenagers, "hope" can become somewhat of an annoyance... like someone telling you to "calm down"... and, at a time when it feels like it's You Against the World, hearing "have hope" can make your blood boil!

Feeling unwanted is a fear that all people have, though some will never admit it. Every person wants to feel special, wants to be loved, wants to be wanted... and feeling like you are alone and not cared for is a terrible thing to go through. The commercials for 'Help Phones' don't seem to help, and admitting that you feel weak in a crazy, overwhelming world is not the most becoming option. 

 Buddha teaches us that we deserve our own love more than anything else in this world, and remember the story of the woman who was tasked with finding a household that had not been touched by death? She thought that she was alone in the world, alone in her grief, but she was not. She could not find one household that had not been touched by death.

We are surrounded by loving; our family, our friends, our significant others, our pets, the earth, and many more. The suffering (dukkha) that we experience when our desires to be loved, wanted and cared for are seemingly not met blinds us. Have you ever desired something or someone so much that it blinded you to the love, care, or possession that you already had? Working to eliminate this desire will eliminate suffering, and will allow us to cherish the amazing lives that we tend to take for granted, especially in our material-centered, Western World.

French Onion Soup Blog is pleased to feature guest writer Kadeen Mchugh with her own story of hope. Kadeen has become a very close friend of mine, and I am so proud of her for sharing her story, her support of French Onion Soup Blog and me, and her commitment to spreading tolerance, positivity, healing, and hope in this world that so desperately needs it! 

"Growing up was difficult. I was bullied all the time during elementary. At the time, I thought it was because I was hated, ugly or useless.
I didn't have many people to turn to; my mom was never home and my dad was always working. As I grew up, I came to the conclusion that everyone around me just didn't care; friends that did things that friends weren't supposed to do… telling others your secrets, talking about you behind your back, etc.. Then there was family that only came around when they wanted something and when I couldn't come through, I was being called selfish. When times got tough I thought that I didn't want to live in this world where no one cared about me.

The point of my story is that I am so happy that I didn't end things. Everything just seems tough at times but when you really look at it I have so many new friends that are the “cat’s ass” and make my life amazing, I have nieces and nephews that have the biggest smiles when they see me, and a boyfriend that makes me feel like he can’t live without me. He makes me feel like the most beautiful girl ever, even on those days where I want to cry because I feel like the ugliest girl ever.  These people saved my life just by being there for me and showed me that they cared about me.

So, next time a friend needs a hand, give them both because you may be that one person to save them and give them hope, love, and a new beginning." 

Courtesy Kadeen Mchugh