This short poem has been added to the Recovery Poem section of the website. I think this poem captures the relationship between the hope of Step 2 and the faith of Step 3 … and perhaps how all of these spiritual principles point us back to a humility where we find true independence of the Spirit as we practice ‘reliance not defiance’ (12/12 p.31) and thus move from willfulness to willingness. – Bruce M.
Living With Hope
Optimism and hope are radically different attitudes.
Optimism is the expectation that things: the weather, human relationships,the economy, the political situation, and so on—will get better.
Hope is the trust that God will fulfill God’s promises to us in a way that leads us to true freedom.
The optimist speaks about concrete changes in the future.
The person of hope lives in the moment with the knowledge and trust that all of life is in good hands.
All the great spiritual leaders in history were people of hope.
Abraham, Moses, Ruth, Mary, Jesus, Rumi, Gandhi and Dorothy Day all lived with a promise in their hearts that guided them toward the future without the need to know exactly what it would look like.
Let’s live with hope.