The plight of hope!

Listen.

Years back, sat on a lash on green grass overlooking the smelly Mudi river, my mentor narrated what experience can do to a people's hope..

A mouse was thrown in a glass tank full of water and its natural instincts kicked in. It flung and kicked its legs relentlessly to stay afloat. After several hours, the mouse succumbed and drowned..

A second mouse was picked, but this time instead of being thrown straight into the tank filled with water, it was first held tightly for about 10 minutes so it could not move an inch from its attempts to break free until it stopped moving about.

A while later, it was thrown into the tank. It's instincts again kicked in. It kicked and strived to stay afloat. Unlike the first mouse, this one only lasted less than 20 minutes. Why?

My mentor continued...experience my friend. The second rat was already exposed to a sense of helplessness. The grip on its body by external forces were so strong and defeating that it's body was conditioned to a sense futility. It probably didn't see any hope in fighting.

Our life experiences are like that of the second rat. They usually have a tendency to break our spirit and diminish our sense of hope. Hope for change, hope for a better life or even life itself, but mostly, hope in mankind.

Yesterday reminded me of this story from my mentor as I engaged with friends at the Club. Should we expect change from any future governments with the same people in it? Same Malawians.

I retorted with the recent developments in our country on the annulment of the elections. It was unfathomable and unexpected. Many expected the same story, the case will be thrown out and nothing will change. Alas, the system overcame and proved us wrong.

The ruling wasn't even the climax of it all. The climax started with all those people who voted. Each and every one of them. Those who went to vote and defied the narrative that 'it is not the people who vote that count, it's the people who count the vote'. Those who demonstrated

They had the hope and belief that the system will one day work and oh did it work my friend..

Still this was not enough to convince those that expect the same results. It is understandable and I hold compassion on that line of thought. I understood because I could not offer a guarantee for change. I could not guarantee riddance of corruption and marginalization.

However, I guarantee one thing. Hope. The same hope that has got us this far is the same hope that can bring change. This is what is so special about mankind. This is being human and is a key element for the survival and development of mankind.

Many are times when our forefathers would have given up, many times, but they stuck to it. No matter the times they hit the ground, they picked themselves up. This is the resilience and energy we need in the face of adversity. Be it in failed relationship, businesses or jobs.

We can lose all that we have worked for but if we lose hope then we have lost it all. We have lost out very essence of living. At that point we did be the most dangerous being to ourselves and to others.

Never lose hope. Follow the right path amidst adversity.

Joan of Arc said these words "One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying"....even more terrible than dying young.