Sunday, November 27, 2011

Magpie 93 - Hope

photo: Christine Donnier-Valentin

It was winter and my morning commute to my boring job had to be altered due to much needed street repairs.  The skies overhead cast shades of grey everywhere, threatening snow.  No sun, no blue sky; my life had progressed into a stage of the doldrums, as my poor departed Grandmother would often say.  I faced the future alone with no promise of brighter days.  I felt as worthless as the sun behind the blanket of clouds, unable to warm the earth, her inhabitants--or my heart.  With each passing day I felt relief at being one day closer to the end of my life.  After all, what was left for me?

As I turned onto an unknown street, my eyes were greeted with a blast of vibrant color.  I squinted into the blaze before me, unaccustomed to the glaring beauty.  Something began to warm within the center of my being.  A smile played at the corners of my usually pursed lips.  A derelict couch, abandoned by its former owner, sat proudly against the grey of the cement wall.  Although tattered and worn, it proudly professed its cheeriness to the world.  A beacon to all who chanced to make the turn.  I stopped to gaze upon it's beauty, to share its hope for a better day.  I drove away humming, directing my auto in the opposite direction from my work.  Deciding to go shopping instead of to work.  It might be a good day to rethink my future, find a new job perhaps.  Why not?  If that old couch could have hope for a better day, then why not me?

Original work by C Hummel Kornell

23 comments:

  1. That's a bit of positive thinking, if you like! :)

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  2. Who knows where inspiration will come from? :)

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  3. Funny how little things turn us around, lift us up to see the world anew: yes of course...
    Nice job m'lady.
    rel (http://pciyrtpy.blogspot.com/)or Under the Microscope.

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  4. I like your take on this! IT is often the small things that become significant, and it is good to think that perhaps this couch did make a significant moment for someone. You pack a lot into these lines of prose - and left me wanting to hear the rest!

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  5. Hope springs from the most unlikely corners (however, I would caution the shopping spree while contemplating quitting ...)

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  6. Truly a life-changing moment for you. Cool Magpie.

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  7. Lovely tale of hope - I find sunshine every day.

    Anna :o]

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  8. cool write ...felt like the sofa had a sunny personality which infused you too ...thank you for sharing x

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  9. Sounds like you didn't have to be too convinced to skip work.

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  10. What a marvelous, uplifting write!

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  11. it's funny how some people can notice the obscure while others will pass by without comment. I like the optimism here.

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  12. Better hang on to that job for a while. Things are tough out there. Don't want to wind up like the couch. :-)

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  13. nice...i love that you found the couch such an inspiration to make a drastic life change...smiles...perhaps it was put there just for that...

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  14. I love this! So joyful. Thanks. : )

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  15. Ah, I really like the hopefulness in your piece. 'If that old couch could have hope for a better day, then why not me?' That's a great closing line.

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  16. Dear C. Hummel-Kornell/Wilson: "a better day" it is! A well-told tale of the two lives interconnecting at the intersection of life. Love it! Chiccoreal

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  17. ah... the great wisdom of this too shall soon pass...

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  18. Inspired and compelling. I am really taken by this piece.

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  19. If hope springs eternal, then the
    springs, naked and raw with patina
    and moss, of that old sofa were
    the catalyst for hidden joy, the
    best kind.

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  20. This is such a realistic piece of writing! The things described happen daily to lots of people who feel they are stuck in a boring job with no future ahead.

    The red sofa symbolizing Hope is a great little item that turns your high-quality post into a wonderful contribution to Optimism.

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