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Amoráh Ross, MCC | March 11, 2010

Hope and Human Wholeness

Life Coaching, Human Wholeness  |  4 comments

"Hope gives us the courage to confront our circumstances and the capacity to surmount them." ~ JEROME GROOPMAN, The Anatomy of Hope

I awoke this morning with the word ‘hope’ on my mind; all day long the phrase, “Hope springs eternal…” has been rolling through my thoughts. As I’ve been getting in touch with the ‘why’ behind this word and this phrase being present today, I realize I’m wondering about how hope relates to human wholeness.

Yesterday I sat with a dear friend in a Seattle courtroom as she was cross-examined by her former employer’s attorney in an unlawful termination/sexual harassment trial that has been two years in preparation for coming to trial. Over these past two years, I’ve watched this friend lose her self-esteem, withdraw from all social activities and generally become someone I barely recognized. Even her outward appearance has changed from that of a lively, funny, mischievous and outgoing woman to that of a dull-eyed, overly serious woman who rarely, if ever, smiles.

When she told me of her decision to sue, her reason was because she felt it was important to take a stand for women in corporations everywhere – to put a stake in the ground for personal safety, fairness and equality in the work place. This was not a frivolous action taken for financial gain – it was a stand for integrity and to bring another ‘good ol’ boy network’ into the light of day. This conviction has been sorely challenged as she and her husband depleted first their savings account, then their stock portfolio and lastly their IRA accounts to continue this fight toward a day in court before a jury of their peers.

Last week, as they prepared for the trial to finally begin, my friend’s husband received word that he is being laid off from his job of 13 years as his company downsizes dramatically. It was heart-wrenching to see him on the stand being badgered by his wife’s former employer’s high-powered lawyer as he told of his wife’s drastic change of personality and how hard it has been - and will yet be for them - to recover financially and emotionally from the job termination action taken two years ago.

And yet, as my friend and I sat and talked at the end of the day yesterday, she was holding her head higher than I’ve seen it in a long while. Her face had a slight glimmer of hope on it and she was able to laugh and joke a little about the players, including herself, in this tragic drama. Hope seemed to be showing itself ever so slightly in her voice, in her eyes and in her posture – she seemed to be re-weaving the bits and pieces of herself, that have scattered over time, back into place. Through that hope, she seems to be becoming whole again.

What do you think about how hope may be related to human wholeness? I’d love to hear your thoughts.