For the last few weeks I’ve felt my hope for America slowly fading.

Hope that this country might once again become a nation where we could disagree with each other without resorting to insults and name-calling.

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Trust that those serving in government would act with integrity and in the best interests of the majority, rather than working for a sliver of the population. 

What happened to the United States I used to know?

I’ll bet most of you can remember a time when we had presidents of both parties who didn’t call our free press “the enemy of the people” or “fake news.”

Who didn’t wield the First Amendment like a weapon.

Who didn’t lie to us every single day.

Remember a time when we had someone in the White House who believed that finding common ground and working together was a win for everyone?

Can you still remember a time in America when the President didn’t label immigrants from Mexico as murders and rapists?

Or mock the disabled?

Who didn’t make fun of women who courageously speak their truth to power?

Or insult Puerto Ricans struggling to rebuild their lives after a monster hurricane?

Remember when we had a leader who understood that part of his job was to preserve and protect our democracy instead of undermining it?

When we had leaders who worked for a cleaner environment and safer workplaces because those things benefit all of us?

I remember…

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And I hope that one day we’ll once again have a person in the White House who respects ALL of us…

No matter what our skin color happens to be…

Or where we come from…

No matter what religion we practice…

Or who we love…

I look forward to a day when those in government pass laws and regulations that are good for the country instead of good for those who can afford to make the biggest political donations.

I trust that in the future we elect a President who believes in bringing this country together instead of pitting one group against another.

But right now we don’t have that person in the White House…

For so many of us, it feels like we’re losing ground instead of making progress. In these troubling times, it’s hard to stay upbeat, hard believe that a better America is ahead. But we all need something to inspire us to keep moving forward. Words that inspire us to believe that the future will be brighter.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes. May they inspire you when you need it most…

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie

“Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.” – E.B. White

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” – Nelson Mandela

“Hope is a renewable option: If you run out of it at the end of the day, you get to start over in the morning.” – Barbara Kingsolver

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“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“Injustice never rules forever.” – Seneca

“Hope is a verb with its shirtsleeves rolled up.” – David Orr

“Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it and to work for it and to fight for it.” – Barack Obama

“When the world says ‘give up,’ hope whispers try it one more time.” – Unknown

“Hope has a cost. Hope is not comfortable or easy. Hope requires personal risk. It is not about the right attitude. Hope is not about peace of mind. Hope is action. Hope is doing something. The more futile, the more useless, the more irrelevant and incomprehensible an act of rebellion is, the vaster and more potent hope becomes.” – Chris Hedges

 

 

“Each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, these ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” – Robert F. Kennedy

“Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay.” – Maya Angelou

“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.” Shel Silverstein

“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.”Anne Lamott

“Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.”– Lin Yutang


We are all stronger and better when we work together.

Together we can create a world of beauty, transformation, and hope.

10,000-butterflies-project-hope-beauty-transformation10,000 Butterflies is dedicated to planting hope and growing change. Every one of us has the power to create positive change — in our own lives and in the lives of others. Together we can solve problems and build stronger communities. 10,000 Butterflies is a place to connect with others making good things happen, to find resources, to be inspired and to celebrate what connects us instead of what divides us.

Please join us.

Bonnie Pond is the founder of the 10,000 Butterflies Project and author of The Power of Three: How to be Happy and Get What You Want in Life (Without Doing Anything Illegal, Immoral, or Unethical) and Unlock Your Creativity: 30 Days to a More Creative YOU! 

 

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