The Tenacity of Hope
When audacity can only get you so far...
Hope. It often times feels elusive, almost fragile in conceptulization. Like a flower that needs to be protected and gently tended to in order for it to survive. We hold onto Hope when it feels like we have nothing else tethering us to this moment in human history; to the realities of our today. Hope, is what we have for tomorrow- for the future.
“Hope is not blind optimism. It's not ignoring the enormity of the task ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path. It's not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight. Hope is that stubborn thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it.” - Former President Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope
What happens when we allow our audacity to Hope for a different future to intersect with the tenacity and steadfastness that Hope requires of us? See, Hope is not fragile. Hope is bloodied and fighting tooth and nail; staying in the ring when it feels like all the odds are stacked against it. Hope is fueled, not just by feelings of want, despair, and longing- but also of grit, rage, and action.
audacity noun [ U ]
US /ɑːˈdæs.ə.t̬i/ UK /ɔːˈdæs.ə.ti/courage or confidence of a kind that other people find shocking
This has not proven more true than now. For me, a 39 year old, Black woman, ‘elder millenial’, I’ve had the audacity to Hope. For the last 20 years, I’ve occupied numerous spaces where I wasn’t welcomed, expereinced blatant racism, sexism, fatphobia, and so many other things. But I had the *audacity* to continue entering in those spaces, hoping that my presence, that my HUMANITY would help create sustainable positive change for as many people as possible. I’ve prided myself on breaking down barriers for folk coming up behind me, and elevating the needs of the most margainalized of us. I’m proud of the audacity that I’ve displayed when it comes to caring for humankind and planet Earth. But right now, my Hope is waning.