Hope in the Prison of Despair, by Evelyn De Morgan (1887)
Anyone who's read much of this blog will probably be aware that I'm sometimes prone to a pessimistic view of the human race. Indeed, as I squat here in my volcanic Fortress of Gloom, surrounded by my army of faithful greyhound minions, often the only thing that cheers me up is the thought that the Yellowstone Supervolcano could go up any time now.
But even I have my better moments. And a really good place to have better moments is Gives Me Hope, which is a website where ordinary people post about incidents in their lives which have - completely unexpectedly - let them see the better side of human nature. Random acts of kindness and courage and clarity, which let light into the darkness.
It's guaranteed to make me cry, though.
Hope by George Frederic Watts (1885)
(Although this is actually a pretty downbeat vision of Hope, who is chained to her lyre and plucks blindly at the last remaining unbroken string. I know how that feels.)
7 comments:
ah ..great:-)
i am a very optimistic person for my own/personal stuff...but usually..because of my wicked and mean sense of humor...i like to hear about the horrible moments in life..but this side totally is the possite..love it..especially the space heater and chocolate part...i alsmot felt like i felt something:-P
thank you for sharing it:-)
oh..did i told you that i lately made your fudge??? well i did..it was WONDERFULL:.have to make it again since greedy me ate it before taking a picture...
It's funny - I always feel so mixed about stuff like this - like I do about those chicken soup books (gag gag cough cough) - but I do tend to have the view that taken together, well, cockroaches will inherit the earth - but individual people can be wonderful. Is a strange way to look at something. Oh, and yeah, gotta love that supervolcano!
Why don't they tap the supervolcano? Surely with all our space technology type stuff there's something to be done?
And don't listen to Danielle, he's a big softy, really.
Delighted for you and the fudge Danielle! - don't eat too much or you really will turn into a big softy ;-)
Right there with you, Erobintica. Mixed up.
Ak. My minions are demanding chewy treats and extra cushions... how's a gal supposed to work?
How lovely, Janine! I really relate to that pessimistic tendency previously in this lifetime. As I've mentioned before, there has been a shift in me, but I so clearly remember feeling the way you've described.
Crying may support you.
Robin—have you seen Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul? :)
I tried to go to the Gives Me Hope link - I was going to write on about the guy who leant me a headphone on the tube while he was listening to Metallica, the only remotely human thing a stranger has ever done to me on a tube. But my computer seems to think there is a virus threat on this site so I thought I'd better write to say BE CAREFUL!
I like the hope picture too, BTW. Reminds me of me last week...
Hmm. Sorry. My McAfee security suite gives "Gives Me Hope" a green tick, so don't know anything about this virus.
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