Inaugurating Hope, Reigniting the Dream — Our Continuing Call

Invincible Hope

When we align ourselves with the highest good for us and for all, we tap into the power of invincible hope.  

This isn’t a wishful-thinking kind of hope, or a blind optimism that somehow things will turn out okay.  

This kind of hope isn’t about the state of the world.  It’s about the state of our mind and the state of our soul. 

It doesn't expend its energy reacting to what happens.  It devotes its energy to creating what needs to happen.

It isn't something we have.  It is something we do.

Instead of waiting for the news to get better so we can feel hope, invincible hope rolls up its sleeves to make the news as good as we can, simply because that’s who we are and that’s what we do. 

Invincible hope is contagious, and inspires invincible hope in others.    

When we embody invincible hope together, we move

from victimization into vision,

from isolation into connection,

from powerlessness into a force for change.

On Inauguration/Martin Luther King Day, some 450 distressed people gathered in person and online for “Inaugurating Hope, Re-Igniting the Dream,” presented by members of our PARA team.  We saw how our pain was a reflection of our love for our world, our country, all people, and all creatures.  Tapping into that love opened us to invincible hope, that force of soul that  Martin Luther King continually drew on. After years of police dogs, billy clubs, jail time, cross burnings, and death threats, he said, “If you lose hope, you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.” King’s willingness to suffer and die for that dream while still loving his enemies convicted the conscience of our nation, catalyzed sweeping civil rights legislation, and inspired us to embrace that dream of a just, equitable civil society for all.  Our dreams may never be fully realized. But we need them as our North Star to inspire and guide us towards a better world. Without our dreams, our present date becomes our destiny.  

The centerpiece of Inaugurating Hope, Re-Igniting the Dream was hearing nine people eloquently share their dreams for our world, what it would mean to them if their dreams were realized, and what they would ask of the rest of us to help realize them.  The appreciation for their messages, the music, and the whole program has been overwhelming. Here’s a link to the recording: Inaugurating Hope, Re-Igniting the Dream (the opening music ends and the speaking begins around 18:00).  

We all knew that these dreamers’ race, religion, gender expression, sex, or love for our planet were in jeopardy under the new administration.  And sure enough, even as we were hearing those dreams, the new President was signing executive orders and announcing policies to eradicate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the public and private sector, exonerate violent insurrectionists and their white, Christian supremacist ideologies, limit Muslims’ freedom of movement, deny birthright citizenship and round up immigrants for mass deportation, nullify transgendered and nonbinary people’s identities, promote an under-qualified accused rapist as the choice for Secretary Defense, pull the US out of the Paris Climate Accords, and dismantle President Biden’s environmental policies.    

Does this mean those dreams for a just, equitable, sustainable, and civil society have been extinguished?  No! James Earl Ray killed the dreamer, but he couldn't kill the dream. A president can indeed do great harm.  But the social fabric of a society cannot be created or unraveled by a president. No president, legislation, supreme court decision, or social media post can extinguish our power to continue weaving the strands of invincible hope together as we interact with each other and our planet.  

In the light of that invincible hope, here are some things you can do to keep the dream alive and let our lives, and our dreams touch the world:

• Practice diversity, equity and inclusion in all of your interactions–in your workplace, neighborhood, places of business, and with whom you do business.
  

• Think about people you know who are being targeted by this administration, and think of how it must feel for your identity to be denigrated and even denied. Become an ally to them, and assure them of their unique worth to you and to Society.
  

• Broaden your experience by getting to know people who are different from you–including politically.  Braver Angels is dedicated to “bringing Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic.”  Several of our members helped start a Finger Lakes Region chapter.  Contact Brady Ferguson at bradyf585@gmail.com. 
  

• Become aware of the power structures and the organizations and institutions you are a part of. Institutional racism and other ”isms" don't go away unless deliberate efforts are made to dismantle them by assuring that all parties have equal access to power. You can be a catalyst for this.
  

• Make sure your representatives and your local government officials know that you strongly believe in the Constitution, the rule of law, the democratic principles of our society, the truth, and civil norms for communication.
  

• Support news sources that are independent, penetrating, and committed to accuracy. I see The Guardian as a worthy example.  For eye-opening commentary on the news from an historical perspective, you can get a free subscription to history professor Heather Cox Richardson’s (almost) daily “Letters from an American” And check out the resources in this substack column.
  

• Stand up for the truth, spread the truth, and live your truth–with love. It gives others courage to do the same. 
  

• Support organizations that are working for the world you dream of–with your money or time and talents.
  

• Contribute to midterm election campaigns for candidates who stand for your values.  Sure, billionaires can outspend us.  But studies show that after a certain point, a bigger war chest doesn’t bring in more votes.  
  

• Actively protect our Earth by how you eat, heat, go, throw, buy, and fly. Yes, governmental policies make a difference.  But most of the damage to our ecosystem comes from the choices we the people make to support our lifestyle. 
  

• We seem to be destined to live in tumultuous, heart-breaking times.  A regular spiritual practice, connecting with nature, savoring beauty, and honestly sharing the state of our heart and soul with trusted friends can help us keep our center.  Also, focusing on the ways that we feel most called to contribute to the greater good helps our creative energy neutralize our reactive energy. 

A few years ago, author Clarissa Pinkola Estes wrote We Are Made for These Times: A Letter to a Young Activist During Troubled Times.  Here are some excerpts from this acutely relevant piece:

Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing….

One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire.

To display the lantern of soul in shadowy times like these - to be fierce and to show mercy toward others, both, are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity.

Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do….

This comes with much love and a prayer that you remember who you came from, and why you came to this beautiful, needful Earth.

It is our invincible hope and our compelling dreams that fuel our signal fires.  If we keep these burning for each other and for the world, and for ourselves, we can continue to inaugurate hope and re-ignite the dream of a world that works for all.

~David Inglis