Prisha Khimavat

This is part of a series. Read more about it here.

How is it that

Even when we know how a movie ends

A part of us hopes for something different?

And yet why is it that

We can hope for the endings of movies to change

But not for growth and change in those around us

How is it that

Even in the midst of a million bad things

We try to find the one thing that’s good?

And yet why is that 

We look for the good in those around us

But only the negatives in ourselves?

How is it that 

Even when everyone else is against us

One persons support can mean the world?

And yet why is it that

Hundreds of loud voices of support

Can be drowned out by the negative whispers of one voice of dissent?

How is it that

Despite being so full of hope and optimism 

Sometimes none of it seems to be enough?

And yet why is it that 

When the sun sets and the day ends

We go to bed hoping for a new beginning on a new day?

__________________________________

A few days ago, two friends and I were watching a movie together. It was an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, that we had all seen before, but more than that, all of us know how Romeo and Juliet ends. That movie ended the same way, and yet, as we were watching it, all three of us kept hoping that it would end differently. When it finally ended tragically, my friend turned to me and said, “Isn’t it weird how even though we knew how it was going to end, we kept hoping something different would happen?” In that moment we laughed it off, but it’s been stuck in my mind since.

As people who have the ability to hope for a different ending in a movie, why can’t we offer the same liberty to ourselves? As I thought about that, I realized there are many times that we behave in this way. We emphasize the importance of one person’s support but sometimes hundreds of people’s support isn’t enough. We look for the negatives in ourselves but see the potential for change, but we look for the positives in others, and if we find the negative we don’t give them the liberty of growth.

There may be so many times when optimism seems worthless, and yet, regardless of how pessimistic one might be, it’s human nature to keep hoping for better.

~ Prisha Khimavat ~