Hope...

By Vichara

A rather large bird floated through the sky near where I sat today. Its wingspan was possibly the largest I have ever seen in recent memory. The shadow it cast was almost equivalent to the size of a cloud passing in front of the sun and I almost mistook it for a small plane. As scary as that may seem there was no fear as it past over, in fact it was the complete opposite. It was almost like the shadow carried with it a sense of well being, contentment and a fortuitous feeling of optimism. I soon realized that this was not some ordinary winged creature but this was actually the wings of hope spreading it’s way across. As much as there is trouble and despair we need to still be vigilant and keep our eyes and heart open to ordinary and extraordinary hope. It is in this simple act and retaining the resolve to embrace hope with pragmatism can we all in our own way cultivate and nourish hope within our corporate, personal and figurative walls around us. Look up here it comes.

myrmidon • \MER-muh-dahn\ • noun

: a loyal follower; especially : a subordinate who executes orders unquestioningly or unscrupulously

Example Sentence:

The boss was more likely to offer promotions to her myrmidons than to those workers who occasionally questioned her tactics or proposed alternate solutions.

Did you know?

The Myrmidons, legendary inhabitants of Thessaly in Greece, were known for their fierce devotion to their king, Achilles, who led them in the Trojan War. "Myrmex" means "ant" in Greek, an image that evokes small and insignificant workers mindlessly fulfilling their duty. Whether the original Myrmidons were given their name for that reason is open to question. The "ant" association is strong, however. Some say the name is from a legendary ancestor who once had the form of an ant; others say the Myrmidons were actually transformed from ants. In any case, since the 1400s, we've employed "myrmidon" in its not-always-complimentary, ant-evoking, figurative sense.