Watching the first two nights of the Democratic convention, my heart swelled and opened as uncontainable tears streamed down my face. The deep emotion and stirrings of hope rose past impacted layers of survival walls, simply from the relief of viewing reflections of unity and messages of decency and truth.

How starved we are for our connection with one another, not just from the extremes of dealing with a pandemic, but from the persistent and aggressive tear-down of the essence of our true nature, over the past four years of divisive and destructive leadership.

To feel the engagement of our true potential to come together once again, the pride of overcoming gender, race and religious bias, and a reconnect to our power to change for the better, in respect of all life, is like finding an oasis in a desert after a life-threatening journey of desperation.

How thirsty we are. And what might the revival of our minds and souls look like from this small sip of water that refreshes and ignites such aspiration? What might transpire from drinking a full glass, becoming hydrated in our wholeness once again?

Is this the glimpse of the other side of our human journey? Is this the time to believe more in our future than our past? Are we to start envisioning ourselves beyond our struggles, our country and the world, as well, to then step fully into the demonstrations and choices that emerge from those visions?

This is beyond politics though, clearly, our political leadership matters in the charting of our course and, at this juncture, it’s critical.

Though it’s difficult to comprehend the full scope of the times we are in while we are living and surviving through it, what remains true through every historic crisis and all human challenge, is the common need for respect, the experience of love and compassion, and the demonstration of our inherent belonging and connection to one another.

Today, I dare to hope.