THERE’S A WILD HOPE IN EACH OF US!

When a person is in their twenties, the whole world feels within their grasp. Anyone over forty is considered old. Then, when that person turns forty, they still believe the world is theirs to grasp. The forty-year-old usually has the power/influence to support this lifestyle. The forty-year-old never expects to be an “old person” in the sixties. However, life moves along and before one realizes, retirement and leisure time become the norm. Sometimes, the sixty-year-old feels “put on the shelf” by those much younger. However, the sixty-year-old thinks there is still much that one can contribute.

Without really realizing what has happened, a person reaches the eighties. The mind may still be active and alert, but the body does not, or can not, respond as expected. What was easy and normative, somehow has become difficult and even frightening. One's legs no longer do as one wishes, and walking has become much slower. Then one realizes that a cane is a handy tool to help with balance. Stumbling along, seeking to avoid a fall, one becomes aware that a walker will need to replace the cane! The mind says, “You are capable of many things”; the body says, “I cannot do this anymore, I need assistance.” Frustration sets in, and a person becomes irritable. Do others want to be with the frustrated individual? Life becomes difficult. Some may be able to walk, but have a very severe hearing problem. Some may be near total blindness. How can one help in this? Some may then isolate themselves because they have difficulty seeing or hearing. 

Walking with a four-wheeled walker may be great, but for how long?  What is the next phase–using a wheelchair. Another step spiralling downwards, as one becomes more and more dependent on the help of others. The doctor may state that a wheelchair will be a must someday.That ‘someday’ hopefully is a long way off. A wheelchair, as a form of transportation, frequently requires a friend’s help to push it. To ward off dependence on others, a motorized wheelchair or scooter may be the next item to obtain. However, for some, the cost may be prohibitive.

Each time one stumbles, the question comes, “Is this the time to change my walker for a wheelchair?”And once in a wheelchair, what comes next? We dare not let the mind go there, and dream up scenarios in which one ends up in bed, no longer able to walk at all. Once there, what is left in life? 

All of these issues, although not limited to older persons, are more prevalent in seniors. How does one then express joy? How can others help the one facing issues of mobility, of hearing, of seeing? Most individuals in these situations want and need social interactions. 

In all of this, we are encouraged to love and care for each other. Some may need help in getting places, whether by vehicle or by walker/wheelchair. Some may need help in hearing or in seeing. In a world where independence is valued above all else, where we are fortunate if we are part of a community open to helping others, then all will grow together.

Lora Braun wrote, ”There’s a Wild Hope in the Wind”. In the chorus of this song, she declares, “The future is dim, but we want to live into a wild, wild hope.” I firmly believe that this expresses the feeling of each of us with some form of handicap that keeps one from having a full life of excitement and joy.

We are able to use the parts of our body, mind and spirit that still function well. Even with disabilities, we are able to have this wild hope that we are of use in this world. Now all we need to do is utilize the gifts and energies given to us. May God give us wisdom and strength for each day we have left on earth.