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It’s Important to Have Hope (I of II)
Mentality, Physicality, Spirituality, & Business

It’s Important to Have Hope (I of II)

By November 15, 2022No Comments

(This piece was originally published on my Substack The Daily Draft with Zac Small, a new resource where I’m creating content that goes beyond the scope of Masculinity, Marriage, Fatherhood, and Sobriety which I’m keeping on here)

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We’ve placed all of our eggs in the basket of hope.

There’s this ever-present nihilism on the edge of our minds; it’s saying, “the world is going to do what it does without regard for my life experience, so I’ll get mine, and the rest can fend for themselves…” to be fair, I can’t argue with the logic.

In recent years we’ve seen the impossible occur:

  • Global Plague (real or not, it makes no difference, the result was the same)
  • Economies shutdown
  • Riots, Looting, and Martial Law due to the government and states saying we’re no longer enforcing consequences.
  • Mandatory Vaccinations Medical Experiments

Not even the French Astrologer Nostradamus himself could have seen this coming, so I repeat my position that I understand those who’ve thrown in the towel, but I cannot join them. At the end of the day, I have hope, and there are many others out there who’ve also made the choice of refusing to bend their knee; these free minds are working towards a future that we hope can be secured for our future selves and all the generations who follow us.

We’re told there’s no hope to be had, but only those who view the world through a screen would ever believe that. Those living in the “real world” see reasons to resist insanity and hold onto their hope for a better tomorrow. Life presents ample opportunities for one to see that we were meant to live and fight for what we love.

When you look around yourself, observe your community, the children playing, look at the teens falling in love and then getting their hearts broken, parents chasing toddlers, all of it…

This is the human experience; we can’t sacrifice it on the altar of altruism or fear.

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

– Thich Nhat Hanh

Both virtues have been weaponized, like the Atomic Bombs Fat Man and Little Boy dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima; altruism is the first bomb dropped on us, “Get vaxxed to save Grandma” and fear was the follow-on for those who didn’t get it the first time, “You’re fired if you aren’t boosted”.

Let’s rewind a minute.

Understand what I said here, “but only those who view the world through a screen would ever believe that (there’s no hope)”.

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For you to find the ability to walk the mental path of hope, one which has you believing this walk through life is leading somewhere worth going – you have to integrate yourself into life, nature, people, experiences, and exposure.

You must be where the people, connections, fresh air, sunshine, and other living things are to experience that integration.

The internet is nothing but 1’s and 0’s with some images and surgically precise ads, noises, looks, and feels. While you understand you’re connecting, learning, and expanding your mind by reading the thoughts of others – you can’t literally feel it, and some life lessons can only be experienced through the literal physical presence.

If you want to feel better, get out of the office, go for a walk, and get some sunlight on your face while the breeze blows around you.

You’re probably able to “feel” this in your mind, and that’s a good thing; it means you know exactly what I’m talking about here, but the problem is knowing the solution and following it are two different things, and if we’re to talk about you having hope for yourself, your community, and your country – then you’re going to have to inject the cure into your day to day routine, there is no other way you’ll ever become a pessimistic person without having this link to nature and life itself as an integral connection in you as a person.

I’d like you to reflect for a moment as everything I’ve been touching on concerning the maintaining of hope has been aimed at your literal and perceived connection and experience; I’ve not mentioned politicians, and I’ve not implied that Trump or DeSantis can make the world “Great Again,”; I’ve gone so far as to literally put you inside your head and life experience with the outdoor visualization above…

The reason for excluding the hope found in your “savior” celebrities and politicians is intentional, not an oversight. These people are distractions, keeping you from recognizing the power is within you to fix this, not them.

These people aren’t saving a damn thing.

The only hope this world has is to be found within the individual constituents, which comprise the “masses” of each country. You have to create the hope we’re speaking of because the macro-events playing out are nothing more than the many micro-moments being amplified repeatedly. The world lost the guiding light not because it was shut off but because each of us allowed our shine to dim.

  • We allowed families to be targeted for dismantling: It was never appropriate for divorce to hit 50%+, children to be anxious and medicated, or husbands and wives to be told their relationship is one that is meant to have them at odds with each other (Wine-O Moms & Doofus Dads).
  • We allowed men and women to lose their identities: We’re at the point where men are frustrated at not being able to breastfeed, and women are “winning” via getting their asses kicked by dudes who are now chicks. Masculinity is toxic, while femininity is targeted for removal from everywhere. What kind of society goes out of its way to confuse gender???
  • We’re looking to increase abuse of children legally: While kids’ mental health resources are overwhelmed, states are working to ensure further abuse can occur, and those delivering the pain are protected by law. Social Justice, the hot buzzword, was given to everyone except the lowest class and least protected population in the country, the children who are literally being treated as 2nd Class Citizens.
  • My Body My Choice, Unless The Government Says Otherwise: We allowed small businesses to be destroyed, gyms to be closed, schools to be flipped on their heads, liquor stores to remain open, and while it’s cool to claim any pro-noun you’d like, you’re not allowed to decline an experimental vaccine develop overnight, or you’ll lose your livelihood and be ostracized by your social group.

None of these things and the many not listed had to occur; they were preventable sans the fact that nobody wanted to stand up and say, “Doing this will lead to a future without a chance of hope for saving itself from itself.” we are the culmination of all cessations made to the mentally unbalanced.

From my perspective, things are ratcheting up at an alarming rate. But so too is the resistance; therefore, I don’t know where I stand with my bet as to whether we’re going to make it out of this or not; I choose to err on good overcoming evil.

I believe that what is right will rise in the end, and in doing so, change will follow that leads to a future where people do not suffer preventable pain or, at the least, find a path to sustainable peace within the home and their souls. It’s here that I have hope and that, as I said, I’ve placed my eggs.

The way I see it, as a father, I have no other choice, I am dying on this hill or going down with this ship – whatever imagery of my demise suits you, go with that, but I’m neither retreating nor letting up on my championing of others to do the same.

Bringing peace to ourselves is the only way we will find peace growing on the grand stage, and unfortunately, for peace to be had, conflict must occur. If you believe in something, even if it is as intangible and fleeting as “hope”; you fight for it.

Part II drops tomorrow,

Zac Small

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