Tiny Dancers – Hopeful

/ May 15, 2024

Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality. ~ Jonas Salk

Tiny treasures dancing in my heart.

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observe minutiae

hidden beauty emerges

tiny dancers play

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Tiny moss dancers playing in the light.

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Patti offered a beautiful and Hopeful LAPC #299 this week asking us to post about what makes us hopeful. After much resistance to the challenge due to my negative associations with the word, I decided to play along. I tend to associate hope with toxic positivity and a kind of denial. After reading this Forbes article on hope as a positive and useful state, I made peace with the word. Nancy Clark makes the point that hope is different from toxic positivity and useful for our survival. I believe we need action in addition to hope to make meaningful changes. Lately, I have very little hope in my heart or my life. I trudge along, bored, settled, very tentative, and negative about the state of the world. I see much to indicate we might perish as a species. My only solace is a belief that nature is resilient enough to survive our harmful ways, with or without humans. Maybe that’s a form of hope.

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Flowers always bring me a smile and wonder at the intricate and delicate ways of nature.

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If you find yourself at a detour, dead-end, or in a place that you would rather not be, you must lean on hope to cope. ~ Nancy F. Clark

Maybe if enough of us choose hope and action, we can make the world better for all life on the planet, not just the rich and powerful. That is my hope and dream.

Simple beauty in this moss-covered rock creates a wonderful mosaic.

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Sorry for the rant. We now return to this week’s regularly scheduled inspiration. Thankfully, nature usually brings me peace, beauty, and a sense of connection. I’m still working on the hope part. Meanwhile, I “hope” you enjoy my photos from last week’s hike at Lincoln Lake, Arkansas. 😊

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There are many treasures to be discovered when we observe nature’s microcosms.

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May we choose hope and action for a better world.

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72 thoughts on “Tiny Dancers – Hopeful”

  4. Beautiful images and poem Brad. I agree with you about the power of hope and action merging…stepping into the very thing we wish and intend and aligning with it truly does speak to me too as the way to cocreate. I share your hopes and dreams and agree that your “belief that nature is resilient enough to survive our harmful ways, with or without humans” is a form of hope. Merging heart to heart with you.

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  7. We have to train ourselves to always look for the good buried within the bad. It’s always there! We just have to be willing to push the self denial aside and open up to the good. We are all tiny dancers in a crazy drama unfolding. Good discovery Brad of what is right with the world….Keep dancing my friend 🙂 VK

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  8. Well Brad, I can see your point on this one. I find I can be hopeful when I think of the horrific events in the past that somehow humankind has managed to work through. Great minds are at work on addressing our climate issues, amazing progress has and continues to be made on curing many diseases, and as you say there is always Mother Nature to fall back to when all else fails. Beautiful images!

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  14. Beautiful photos, Brad. ” I believe we need action in addition to hope to make meaningful changes.” Such wise words and I agree. Hope without action doesn’t accomplish much, does it? I also think nature’s resilience with prevail, with or without us. In the meantime, keep up the walks and noticing all the beauty in the world. There’s peace in that.

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  15. I can relate to your post, Brad. I too think Nature is capable of surviving and it will, maybe not with us, maybe in a different way, but it will. I think being realistic and with hope is the best combination: it springs people into action. This is a great post, thank you.

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  17. Yes, I too lean in to the natural world when I can to find hope, and I am glad you decided to join in. You shared a realistic view of “hope”, Brad.

    Your rocky and moss-covered photos are microclimates worth studying. And with your words, they are thought provoking. I often think how nature brings something wonderful of nothing. And yes, maybe like a drop of rain we can all make a little difference, one at a time. I am always glad for your rants. It is the reality. Thank you.

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  21. I totally agree with your conclusion–hope is very different from positivity (which always seems forced to me and makes me slightly nauseous!!) Hope alone isn’t enough. Action is essential. Otherwise, it’s wishful thinking! Nature is a balm and inspires hope. Your photos are lovely! Thanks for sharing your hopeful and inspiring images.

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  22. A beautiful post, Brad. “Maybe if enough of us choose hope and action, we can make the world better for all life on the planet, not just the rich and powerful. That is my hope and dream.” I share your dream and hope.

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  24. I love your post and insights, Brad and the connections you made in your haiku that was very hopeful by the way with those dancing moss gorgeous dancers! Your pictures always bring hope and delight and sometimes that is as best as we can do… sigh. Hope with ACTION is a perfect combo for sure ❣️💕

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  25. Oh man, I’m with you, Brad. It took a drastic move to heal myself and feel free and happy. But, truthfully, what I I know is that it has prepared me for death – that I have made sure I will leave this earth with no regrets. And I feel like that’s what I’m now readying myself for. I’ve got no hope at all. Like none. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I look at what’s happening around the globe and don’t believe there is anything or anyone that will save us. We’re doomed. I’d love to travel more, but I think of the water shortages everywhere, the impact of flying on climate change, the fires, droughts, and on and on it goes. It makes me want to stay put and enjoy whatever time we have left, which doesn’t feel like much. It sounds depressing, but there’s a lot to be depressed about. Like you, though, I am drawn to the beauty of earth’s offerings because they comfort me. Last night, I walked to the ocean, stood on the shore, and watched the sunset. It was glorious. Suppose it’s gratitude I feel these days rather than hope. ‘Til the end, I will be grateful. Maybe that’s what we have to hold onto, bearing witness to beauty. You always remind me to get outside and seek out that magic. Keep doing what you do, my friend. Your poems and photos bring so much joy. Big HNS ❤️ xo

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    • Thank you for the heartfelt comments Tanya. I’m touched by your words, and sad that you don’t feel any hope. And I respect your choices, and share the mixed feelings about travel. I want to see more of this beautiful world but know it only adds to the problems. Gratitude is certainly a great choice. I’ll keep seeking beauty in nature and maybe learn to reach out more to people. Thank you for sharing the journey. Big hugs…🙏💖

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  26. I love these photos, Brad. I’m not the photographer you are, but I do like to zone in on the tiny things too, so often overlooked in the wide spectacular view. The lichen mosaic, the splay of petals on the single flower, the moss and bark on trees are worlds of beauty all on their own.

    I totally understand about your resistance to the word hope too. Somehow it seems fraught with a fatalistic yearning for what is not present, a faith outside ourselves and the here and now. I’ve come to replace the word hope with trust, which seems more solid, more surefooted and resilient. I don’t hope that the earth will survive, I trust that it will. I don’t hope there is life after death, or even have faith that there is, I trust that whatever gave us life in the first place will continue doing so in whatever way it will happen. I trust that we all have a purpose here and now, even as the trees and the lichen and the bees all have purpose, all contribute to the grand scheme of things. I trust the universe, this here and now. And I trust that it is deeper and more mysterious and more beautiful and wise than anything we have yet to understand.

    I struggle to with what to think about, let alone do about, all the wars and suffering and cruelty and greed and hatred we see around us. It feels so suffocating, and yes, hopeless. I haven’t found an answer to all that. But I try to remind myself that right where all this evil seems to exist is its countermeasure as well: people with compassion and courage reaching out to heal and comfort, to find ways to stop the madness, to end the wars, to overcome the greed, to right the wrongs. And I try to keep my thought buoyed by that. Truth and Love is more powerful than lies and hate. Truth and Love wins, is my mantra. I put my trust in that.

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    • Thank you for the honest and heartfelt comments Deborah. they resonate deeply with me. I like the word trust much better too, although I don’t share your level of trust in the universe and our role. I do trust nature. And I like your mantra to focus on love, truth, and trust. That’s a good place to start. Thank you. 🙏💖

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  28. I’m with you in feeling hope indeed needs to be linked with action, otherwise hope for me remains an empty jesture. For me hope takes away a persons power to create change, even a small change for their life. No one can attempt to save the world… it is collapsing quite timely! But we can each breathe new life into a new reality for ourself!
    Thank goodness for nature and your connection which will inspire you to take that leap of faith or hope into realising your own magnificent potential. Then you will be smiling, like never before❤️ Thankyou Brad for your honesty and words of love🥰 Sending love to you 💃❤️

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  30. The hydrangea bushes in my backyard are what gives me hope. They die and become sticks each year and I think, well, that’s it, and each year around this time they sprout bright green leaves and beautiful complex flowers. I feel like I’m in a stick place and I need to look at those flowers and remember it’s possible to come back again. I wish the same for you. Also, your photos are remarkable, as always. So inspiring!

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  33. I’m with you about the toxic positivity. Hope is a much better thing to have, though, like you, I’m not too hopeful about our long-term existence on this planet. However, also like you, I know nature will do its thing and persevere anyway.

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