Today’s Talk…

”Hope In One Hand, Despair in the Other”

As I mentioned this past week, I’m taking my summer break from teaching. This week I will be present to introduce you to someone you already know - Dr. Holly Hudley. This is what she says about what she will be teaching. 

Dear friends,

 I am delighted and honored to be with you this Sunday as Bill takes a well-deserved break.

 It seems like many of us feel caught in this yo-yo between the two, Hope and Despair. I hope to shed some light on how to be in this tension with a little more ease.

 I love etymology, and while these words sound so different in English, they are incredibly similar in their original Latin. Sperare means “to hope” and desperare means “to despair, to be without hope.” The words are intimately yoked, not just in sound, but in lived experience. One cannot exist without the other. Despair produces a new kind of fierce courage when there is nothing left to fear. Only when we hit rock bottom can we surrender to hope. When we step into this tension, there is the possibility for transformation and deep connection. Despair acts as the dark soil from which mature, resilient hope grows. They are braided states of the human soul who faces suffering.

 I hope to shed some light on how to be with these opposite but connected states so that we may find balance for times such as these. Be well until then! Warmly, Holly.

Ordinary Life starts at 9:45 a.m. and the teaching begins at 10 a.m. Whether in person or online, I look forward to being with you in Ordinary Life this week as we continue “walking the wayless way.”

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Be well and much love and gratitude,

Bill Kerley

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Ordinary Life is an educational presentation from St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.

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