Hope never dies

I am so excited to share with you this next post, part of a 20SB blog swap, during which I got partnered up with the wonderful Hope, a Grecian lady, whose own blog Hope Dies Last is rife with tales of life, relationships, introspection, all spun together beautifully with words that emit true grace and candor. I could not be more pleased to have her blogging for Sassafras, so please read and comment away. And then hop over to her blog to see my post. Add her to your blogroll my friends, you shan't regret it.

La Dolce Vita

Hi, I’m Hope; the blogger behind Hope Dies Last. The lovely Sassafras and I were paired up randomly for the 20SB Blog Swap. While discussing ideas for the theme of our posts, Sassafras immediately revealed that she created her blog to be inspired. Without second thought, I agreed. Yes! Let’s write about inspiration. I’m a writer. Inspiration is my middle name.

And then, well, then I realized the inspiration for this post?

It wasn’t coming.

When inspiration is lacking, I usually dip into my archives and read my own writing until my fingers can’t control themselves any longer and I begin tapping away on my keyboard. Tonight, I went right back to the beginning. Why did I create my blog to begin with? Then I realized that, just like Sassafras, I wanted to be inspired.

As a perpetually single girl in her 20s I had lost all motivation to take control of my dating life. After three years of no dates I began to feel restless. If I have to write about dating, I reasoned, that will force me to put myself out there and actually date.

And it did.

Initially, progress was slow. A silly crush here and a silly crush there. Then, I met The Man. A tall, blue eyed Australian who inspired me to take a chance. He inspired me to live life faster than I had been living it before. At the end of those magical 5 weeks, as he got on a plane to return home, I convinced myself to hold on to that inspiration.

Throughout the year that followed, I met interesting men more often. I spoke to them. I even sent one of those men an origami flower in the post. I went on a couple of dates. I was stood up. I was rejected. Time and time again. Always, it felt like. In January of this year, I even had a heavily conflicted two month affair with a man who seemed to be perfect for me. As my birthday approached, that fizzled out with no drama. At the same time I was attempting to navigate my 28^th year and the news that my best friend was engaged. Pretty soon, I lost that inspiration. I couldn’t write. I didn’t want to write. I didn’t want to do anything. I wanted to curl into a ball. I was resigned. This is my life. And it is colourless.

But, the thing with inspiration is that once you find it, it is always there. Inside you; waiting to come out. Exactly like hope.

And when it did—almost three weeks ago--when that inspiration finally revealed itself to me once again, I met a man. And dear Sassafras readers, he was good. It was good. It is good.