Reasons For Hope

In an oft-quoted poem, Emily Dickinson called “Hope” the “thing with feathers”. Even “in the Gale” of life’s most difficult times, she wrote, the little bird hangs on, giving much, and asking for little in return.

Maybe that’s true, Emily, but right now my mental image of “Hope” is of a battered bird clinging to a storm-tossed branch, like the miserable cat in the “hang in there” meme.

We can’t afford to let that little bird (or cat!) fall. In times overrun with violence, injustice, and fear, hope is a necessity. Without it, we give up on our dreams for a better future. We sit on the sidelines as wickedness overruns our world, instead of rolling up our sleeves and getting to work.

The best way I know to keep that little bird alive is to connect with the people who are choosing the path of peace right now, in the midst of our troubled world. Their efforts give us good reasons to hope, because they are forging a better future for their communities here and now.

That’s why I’d like to introduce you to the people who are keeping hope alive for me through our new interview series, Third Things First. Please enjoy our first episode with the globally recognized leader in peacebuilding, Dr. David Anderson Hooker! Dr. Hooker taught me that, in the midst of past trauma and ongoing violence, seasoned peacebuilders gather their community around a third thing: a work of art that creates an opening to imagine something the rival sides haven’t been able to imagine before – a future where everyone can flourish in peace.

I hope – yes, I hope! – that Third Things First will become your place to renew hope in a more peaceful world.

If you care about peacebuilding, theology, social justice, or simply changing the story you live inside, this conversation offers language, practices, and hope! Please share this conversation with anyone you know who could use a little hope, and please follow us – and Dr. Hooker – for more resources like this.