Are we passing hope along?

A segment on the NBC Nightly News tonight got me thinking. It talks about a woman who had experienced so much already in her life that she was compelled to pass HOPE along in an unusual way. I believe that there is a strong woman in each of us! But sometimes it takes us years to find ourselves or events in our lives that force or propel us into acting and finding ourselves. This woman found herself and then anonymously put the love and hope out there that she hopes will help someone else.


I know that one of the few things I was able to harness from my childhood and my mother was my confidence. I feel that I didn't fully understand or use my confidence until I joined the Army and had to choose whether I was ready to do things I wouldn't have considered before. The Army definitely boosted my confidence and I think helped set me up to feel like I could do anything I set my mind to, regardless of the obstacles.

Another trait I got from my childhood and my mother was optimism. I have never fully read The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale but I remember my mother reading it many times during my childhood. I know it gave her the optimism and hope that a new better day was on its way. I may have not finished the book but I know that the majority of its lessons are already instilled in me, thanks to her. I had a financially poor childhood but I can't say that it was awful. My mother made sure we were always looking on the better side, to the new day.

Currently I struggle trying to instill these same lessons in my adopted daughter. We adopted her out of the foster care system at age 13 and unfortunately he mother was absolutely no help in shaping her as she is today. I can only be the best example of a mother I can be and hope that when she is older that she maybe sees some of the positive traits from me that will help her blossom later in life.

I hope that this gets you thinking too and that you start to look for ways to either embrace your confidence and change your life for the better.  Or find your hope and have enough to pass a little bit of it along. #LoveUp