I'm not sure when it started, exactly. I suspect around November 2016 - but seeds of it were planted earlier than that.
I am confident, however, that it was a slow, gradual process. So slow, that it snuck-up on me, uninvited.
It showed up as irritation, a touch of gloom, and sometimes misplaced anger. At times I drowned it in glasses of Chardonnay, or expressed it in curse-laden rants to my husband and close friends, or, on good days, I left it in the woods during hikes.
"It" is a lack of HOPE.
I want to be clear. My feeling of a lack of hope, is not hopelessness. It is not dire or desperate. Nor is it drama-filled or pitiful.
Simply, it is that the feeling of hope is not as available, not as present, and not as certain as it once (always?) had been.
I realized this last week, when I was watching Michelle Obama speak at the Democratic National Convention. I felt hope. HOPE!
Dang!, I have been missing feeling hope!
Typically, I am an optimistic, see-the-good, silver-lining type gal. And HOPE is a large part of that positivity. Recently, I have struggled finding those daily rays of sunshine.
I know it's completely understandable. We are going through a tumultuous time in our country and never before have we experienced a pandemic, an economic downturn, racial unrest, and a heated and divisive election season all at the same time.
I think that we all need a little more HOPE right now. And, I figured that the best way I would help in doing that was to create art.
So, last week I started #75daysofhope and am creating HOPE artwork until the election.
I do hope that these pieces bring you little reminders that HOPE is still around! Enjoy!
Make it a HAPPY and HOPEFUL day!