Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Offering New Hope - Sunrise

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Today’s Blog Post
Offering New Hope - Sunrise

As we were rolling along over the country roads the sun was not yet up. It was 6 AM in Ontario, November, and it was dark outside. Yet on the horizon there was already a hint of what was to come. Daylight would soon be ours – the darkness of the night would be gone.

At night it is hard to see. It is hard to move around without light of some sort. And if you live in the bush it is best to stay hidden, curled up and waiting for tomorrow when your enemies might be gone. When fear will leave… and freedom will return.

Listening to many people over the years I have been witness to the darkness in their lives. The times when the unknown smothers them, when they can move no longer freely about. Just making it through the dark time is all that they can do… and at times they wonder if it will ever end.

But that is not just in the past it is also the present for many people. They are wondering if there will ever be light again. They wonder if they will ever return to a normalcy. What should be the most wonderful days of their lives is instead filled with horror.

There are lots of reasons for this… but with no answers.

It is about that time in my own life that prayer is the only answer. Magical answers don’t come, but peace inside of me does… a little at a time. There is a small ray of hope that first pierces the darkness… then more light follows.

With that thought in mind yesterday on that dark road, the sun started to come up.
All across the fields that began to show was a wonderful mist mixed with the smoky trails from low lying farm houses.

The sun not only lit the fields but also chased every bit of darkness away. The glory that splashed on everything we watched was amazing.

I just had to stop and take photos. I only wish that I could have stayed longer at some spots and watch the entire process of the dissolving night… as fear tumbled away and new hope burst forward.

I am reading a book entitled “New Hope – for the people with Bipolar Disorder” by Fawcett, Golden and Rosenfield. It is a wonderful book about the horrific journey that folk go through when their family member is caught in the terrible trap of the Bipolar sickness.

Fawcett and Golden are the experts, the doctors that should have the answers when dealing with the sickness of the Bipolar. Rosenfield is the expert – she has suffered from this sickness all her life from what I have gathered so far.

From what I have witnessed of Rosenfield in the book so far she is doing much better than she was earlier in her life. She has found help.

Why read this anyway?

A family that I know is in throws of dealing with a family member that is deep into the Bipolar condition but has not admitted that she needs help. I truly suspect that she knows something is amiss… but in her situation she is feeling just fine. She is in control and needs no help at all. It is bizarre to watch from the sidelines. The totally out of control way of doing things is destroying any semblance of order in the family’s life.

BUT as much as she sees the light, her family is in total darkness. They are afraid of what is happening. The possibilities of losing it all is very real. The spending rate of the Bipolar victim has been burning up the family reserves at an alarming rate.

There is far more to the story that I could tell. The children are suffering in ways unimaginable. The dad is getting by one day at a time… but that is not totally correct to say it that way… most days are dark and he doesn’t get by at all. Only he knows what it feels like to just make it through one more hour of darkness.

He is my friend and I can only offer that – friendship. Hey buddy I am with you… through the darkness. That is what friends are for.

Now I know that this sounds so glum… that most will have stopped reading by this stage. I apologize for giving you a down day… BUT THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE!

As I watched the sunrise yesterday I was thinking about my friend and his small family. They were just getting up. They were going through the actions and motions of making another day come together… wondering where mommy is and hoping she was okay.

My thoughts were heavy. BUT - It was at that moment that I began to think of the fact that the light will penetrate the darkness that they face. There will be a tomorrow that is better than today. There is an opportunity that will come.

We were hurrying down the road for a 7 hour meeting that would deal with our prison system in Ontario and Canada.

Yesterday as I listened to the folk in our group I was sorting through my own situation and the family that I have written about. I was looking at my own dark times when I just don’t know what to do.

The thoughts were amazing to say the least. The light was beginning to show again.

Today we are meeting with all of the Management of all of the Federal Prison system in Ontario. It is quite an honour to say the least. These folk deal with some of the darkest areas of human behaviour… yet there is hope and light. Today we are talking about Hope… new Light… the Sunrise in humanity.

I am making these sunrise shots some of my favourite to ponder. The light is coming… the darkness and fear will have to leave.

There is hope.

~ Murray Lincoln ~
http://www.murraylincoln.com/
Resource
The book…
http://www.amazon.com/Hope-People-Bipolar-Disorder-Manic-Depressive/dp/0761530088











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