Bringing hope to the bone-weary

THESE days I find myself almost unconsciously always cheering those downtrodden, depressed, utterly frustrated people whom I know. I don't know why but I feel this irresistible urge to give them some kind of hope when all they do see is a long, dark tunnel with no light either coming in or at the end of it.
I guess I remember vaguely that when I was in that state of mind many moons ago, there was nobody I really remember giving me hope and optimism. How I survived those times is really hard to tell. All I do remember is that I was always praying for help.
You can't imagine how good a guy can get at this praying thing until he seems always in the thick of trouble. I pray just before I sleep. I prayed at the school chapel. I prayed in church every Sunday. I pray so much I thought I might as well become a priest. No, just joking.
Anyway, the praying part was real. I learnt from that experience that many people suffer from a lack of hope in their lives. They are always moving from depression to depression. Nothing in their lives seems to give them any reason to carry on.
Perhaps that is why the suicide rate keeps on going up. People just find it too hard to continue living the kind of life they have leading. The easiest way to cheer a depressed guy is to giving him or her a free meal.
One must be careful not to make it look like charity. The last thing a depressed person wants is pity but they do appreciate an attentive audience. So they are not perfect but I don't care.
One of the techniques I used is to employ encouraging words. Everybody, regardless of his background, should be supported by kind words or gestures. It gives them hope to carry on. Of course, there will those who look upon words of encouragement as some kind of HIV virus. They feel they don't need it, they don't want it and they absolutely can't stand others having pity for them.
It is so easy to light up a person's day. When you next see a guy whose head is hanging down, don't ask him what's troubling him, instead say, "I am feeling generous today, drinks on me!"
Or, "don't look so down. It could be worse. You could be born on the wrong side of New Orleans!" There is a dearth of messages of good hope in today's world. A lot of people walk around thinking that life has been very unfair to them.
They complain incessantly that life has dealt them a raw deal. They never thought of the times when they had a meal to eat at least twice a day. They forgotten the fact that there's a roof over their heads and colour TV is at their disposal next or day.
It is our duty as a fellow human being to prop up our struggling brother. One day, it may be our turn. Who knows how well we can cope the situation. Everyone sometime in his life will have to undergo sufferings of the human kind. We can't avoid it but we can certainly not make a big deal about it.
One of the things this world needs less of are whiners. People who feel sorry for themselves are suckers for punishment. Why punish yourself in such an obvious way.
We the so-called knowing kind must help all those who need it, to stand up, walk a bit straighter and speak softly and gently to our neighbours.
Loneliness is not the monopoly of anyone. All of us are entitled to it. There are cases of individuals who wallow in so much pity that they go to their graves withe the look of enormous stress.
We must put the smiles back on our brethren (men or women).When we have done the needful, the smiles will trigger an effect that will reverbrate around the world. Whenever I hear laughter in the distance, I always tell myself: How lucky these people are. They are laughing all the time. Surely, their lives must be rather cheerful.
Those who have benefited from Cheers from the Heart should in time help others so that they can in turn help others when the time comes.
The magic of bringing hope to others needs no capital. It cannot be taken for granted because the guy is next to you may be on his last leg. Sometimes you could very well be his last hope. If you don't say the right thing, that's just like pushing him over the cliff.
One day when we have cheered enough people in this world, our lives will suddenly veer around and thank us for a job well done. The words, Faith, Hope and Charity, were created so that one day, we will remind ourselves and others that we can help ourselves by helping others.
The opportunities will always present themselves. We must be prepared. Even if for the rest of our lives, we don't achieve anything outstanding, we can take consolation in the fact that our kind words have turned many an individual around. God bless us all.