Esperanza

I have copied and pasted my Facebook status from yesterday.
I think we all need a little hope just now.  

***This is long!***

~ Esperanza; The Thing with Feathers ~

Hope.
A white shirt.
A feather…

Stay with me.

Slightly belated end of week ramblings.
Truth be told, this has been a much tougher week than last.
Presumably, I am not alone.
Reality has struck.
We now know that this situation could go on for some time yet.
Yesterday, the schools "finished" for the Easter break.
The shops have shelves of chocolate eggs.
The weather is meant to improve.
The birds are giving it laldy every morning.
The loo still needs cleaned.
Teenagers still don’t want to get out of bed…

Much is unchanged but everything has changed.

Last week, I chose gratitude as my theme.
This week, I think it's important to think about hope.

In darker moments, it's easy to lose hope.

I read a Tweet the other day.
The writer, Elizabeth Gregory, described what we are facing with heartbreaking accuracy:
"This virus is like a creeping tide that threatens to engulf.
First China, then Europe, then Britain, then Wales, then my Health Board and now my family. Sending every positive vibe to my brother-in-law who is fighting for his life ICU in England..."
(@DizzyDoodler)

Scary stuff.

The hospital staff didn't give up hope.
Elizabeth's brother's family, friends, and colleagues, never gave up hope.
Neither did her followers on Twitter.
2 days later, he was clapped out of ICU by a team that never lost hope.

So grateful that the doctors, the nurses, the myriad healthcare professionals, never lose hope in the face of this monster.
If the scientists working on how to best defeat this beast gave up hope, what future would there be?
Every person who recovers from this awful virus, and its effects, offers us all hope.
It can be defeated.
We have amazing professionals in the global medical and scientific communities working tirelessly to seek the further knowledge that will ultimately yield the power to defeat this common enemy.
Closer to home, we have the NHS, a source of pride that inspires hope every day.

~~~

The White Shirt of Hope.
Most people know that I have a special affinity with Spain.
I feel so very sad about the situation there.
My Spanish friend and her family and friends are in my thoughts daily.
For over 30 years, her family has been my family.
I watch videos she sends from her window looking down on streets I know so well.
Hauntingly empty.
No bars open to drop into on your way home from a job you can't go to.
No noisy gregarious gatherings that the Spanish do so well.
No raucous, rambunctious rabble ascending from the corners where children normally gather at dusk.
An eerie silence has fallen over my beautiful, noisy Spain.
But, they still hang onto hope.
Hope in a country with a history of hardship.
Hope in a country that was already struggling on the back of the financial crisis.
Hope in a country where unemployment and poverty were already shamefully high.
If they can hope for a way through this, then so can I.
We all can.
So although this has been a crappy week in many ways, I am not ready to give up hope.
Two beautiful declarations of hope for us this week (if you're still reading!)
España, Camisa Blanca de mi Esperanza - Spain, White Shirt of my Hope. 
One of my long time favourite songs. 
I chose this video because of the accompanying images.
https://youtu.be/YgYaVoXeyOI
~~~
The Thing with Feathers.
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
(Emily Dickinson. No title, the poem has a number instead - 314)
~~~~

So, week one nodded to Gratitude, week two to Hope.
Let's keep it positive.
Hoping we can start planning our street party in the not too distant future.
Hoping we can reopen the surgery and welcome our staff back to crack on with doing what we all do best.
Hoping that everyone is ready to face week three face on!
Looking forward to a virtual catch up with friends tonight - I 'hope' I can get the software to work and that we all remember we are on video (I WILL be in my pyjamas!)

¡Ánimo!
#StayHomeSaveLives #StaySafe