I stopped to think, I read the words again and I wondered. Is this real? Is this where we are in the world at this point in time? War is spreading. Will it really happen? Will the war move to the rest of the world? When people talk about the 3rd world war, very often we nod our heads and then look away and our mind focuses on the nicer parts of our lives. Yes, we are lucky to be living on our little island..but for how long?

It is Ash Wednesday. The priest gave a sermon about forgeting oneself, pushing aside our ‘me’ and ‘I’ and instead focusing on the 40 days that come before the feast of the resurrection. What of 40 days? 40 days to rethink our lives and, instead of believing we are gods, we should work hard to be better, to care for others, to love others and to understand that we have Jesus to turn to, who loves us as we are and who gave his life for us. Is He the only one who really loves us? I do believe so. Do you?

And what has all this got to do with dementia? I compare the war of the world to the war inside our brain, the war that destroys those brain cells when dementia shows its ugly head. It is a war that we will ultimately lose. A war both within and without that, yes, we will lose. Is there really a winner in a world war? Is there a winner in the brain of one with dementia? I think you know the answers to both questions.

Will a cure ever be found. Yes, I believe so. I do believe that, one day, the scientists will find the key to the gold we are searching for. I do believe so. Do you?

Yet, what do we do in the meantime? How do we cope with the build up to this war? How do we protect ourselves? Where do we seek comfort? Who do we turn to? To ourselves? Isn’t that what the media tells us..that we are strong and can conquer anything and everything?

We cope by putting trust in hope. Hope is what we have and let no one ever take that anyway from you. Hope is what will help us face the next step, whether backwards or forwards.

How do you hope, if there is no cure? It does not make sense, does it?

You can hope for help, for kindness and for the time that those close to you can give you. You can hope for others to show you the love you need, for the comfort they can offer you and for the precious moments and memories that can be formed together. Yes, I do believe there is hope. Do you?

Any what of this world? Is there any hope? Does it really take a handful of people to decide the fate of billions of people around the world, of the survival of the planet? How can this small group of people decide for us? They can and they do. So, we hope and we hope, and we hope that they will steer their decisions in the right direction..and not head on into the vastness of space. Yes, I believe there is hope. Do you?