We all deserve hope - Maxine Meixner

​I’m not religious, but when I see someone running to catch the bus, I say a silent prayer for them. I pray to no one and everyone when I silently say, “I hope you make it.” And these five words contain all the things I wish for this stranger. I hope you make it. I hope the stars align and you can be at the right place at the right time. And once the fight to catch the bus is won, you can rest and catch your breath instead, knowing that you are exactly where you need to be.

I have all these little hopes for the strangers I see. Like, I hope you have the most perfect cup of tea. And I hope that your mornings are slow and that you learn how to let go like the autumn leaves do in bursts of bright color making way for something new. And I hope someone always holds out a hand for you when you need it, but also that you have the courage to take it, knowing that you have the strength to hold heaviness when you face it.

And I hope you always have a place that feels like home, whether it’s a physical place or one that you carry with you in your soul. And I hope that people are kind and life is good and you are safe and loved as everyone should be. We all deserve this.

And I’m not religious, but I have been praying more lately for the strangers I see in real life and the ones on the telly. And it can be for things as mundane as catching trains, or for the people who are fleeing things some are more hesitant to name. Because what is a prayer but a wish for all humanity? One that shoulders all of our collective hopes for the things that we see and that we fight for.

Because we hope and we fight for equal rights, the end of genocide, peace on this earth, and kids to not know what hurt is. So when I say I hope you make it, those five words contain not only the weight of the world, but the promise to break it and remake it and rebalance the scales to be a drop in the ocean that swells to make all ships rise so we can all sail safely and actually selfactualize. So when I say I hope you make it, I am not only praying for you.

I hope you make it because I hope we all do.

So when you see someone running for the bus or someone who is facing something you would rather turn away from, I hope you hold on to your hope and stay engaged. Your hope shines out like the sun’s rays. Without it, the world only gets more gray. Without our collective hope, we can’t believe in change. And change is something we need to make.

So, I hope you make it. I hope we all do.