Hello, my name is Malcolm, and I am an addict. There is no 12 step program for my addiction, for my addiction is an unrelenting search for HOPE.
But not just any hope.
I search for the kind of hope my mother had for ME when I was born
I search for the kind of hope a small child has on Christmas Eve.
I search for the kind of hope that my mother had for me on my first day of school.
I search for the kind of hope that a young man has as he is about to graduate high school.
I search for the kind of hope that a young couple have as they vow to live a lifetime together.
I search for the kind of hope that couples have when they buy their first house and the memories that they will create there.
I search for the kind of hope we had as OUR children were born.
I search for the kind of hope our children have as they leave our protection to face the world and all its aspects, on their own.
I search for the kind of hope that an athlete has after years of regimen and practice.
I search for the kind of hope that the farmer has as he gazes into the sky as he tends to his fields.
I search for the kind of hope that children have as they plant a tree in their playground.
I search for the kind of hope that understanding and tolerance brings.
I search for the kind of hope that married couples have as they near their 35th anniversary.
Finally, I hope that there is never a 12 step program for my addiction. For only in the presence of hope, can people truly flourish.
The Ross Clan goes far back into Scottish antiquity and our motto is "Spem
Successus Alit" or "Hope Nourishes Success". Chairman Mao, in his Red Book,
writes "only in the total absence of hope, can revolution occur". It thus
becomes very obvious the true importance of Hope in our daily lives, how it
can motivate us, or lacking, send us into total despair.
I have spent a lifetime fighting my demons, and I believe that it was NLP
that put a sword in my hand. My battles now have become skirmishes, ongoing
but with much less collateral damage.
I hope to see all my old friends and perhaps many new ones at the Symposium.
Malcolm