"Man, The Dope Is That There's Still Hope."

The lead of this blog is a Springsteen line from Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street.

I think of it all the time.

In the context of things going wrong.

It's easy to get down when you read the news or watch life play out for you on the headline news networks.

But.

Man, the dope is that there's still hope.

This weekend there are still people laughing and playing ball with their family.

There are groups of friends making tee times where the laughs will happen.

People are inviting their parents or grandparents over for dinner.

Watching movies.

Catching a baseball game.

Smiling.

Loving one another.

And yet what do we have filling out minds and hearts on a daily basis?

People making hateful stances in the name of God...our political leaders telling lies, calling each other names, looking down their noses at races full of people.

Hate is easy to find.

But.

Man, the dope is that there's still hope.

A couple of weeks ago I was at a baseball game in Kansas City.

People were happy to be on the kiss-cam.

People were chanting and doing the wave.

I didn't even care who won.

The sun was shining and people were smiling.

And here on Labor Day weekend I think about the heavy workload that my job has brought to me and I think of so many others who are in the same boat...and it's easy to get down...but we have a place to go...to feel productive...to make money for our family.

So we can smile, and share and raise our kids in the light that God provides.

There's still hope.

So as you rest, or while you work...

...consider that all the garbage that you see isn't what should control your mind.

Life is a battle, no doubt.

No one said it'd be easy.

But.

Man, the dope is that there's still hope.