Photo by JRobin Whitley

Change through hope has started if my family is any measure of what's happening. From a life of "What dreams may come" insanity to getting ruby red slippers, things are turning around and there is light at the end of the tunnel, deliverance from the land of the lost. Obama probably deserves a little credit since his campaign spent billions of dollars to send out a message of hope which then redirected our minds enough that we as Americans voted him in to be the first black president in history. That in itself is not a small feat considering that for the first time in my voting life, our state voted for a Democrat.

The main genius of Obama's campaign and now presidency is that he "gets" what a democracy is about and knows that change must come from US, the people before a government has any real "power".The former administration tapped into the U.S. people's fear, and this president has chosen to tap into our better self, our hope. I guess that's assuming that most of us hope for good things in life but the people here in NC tend to be that kind of people so I'm going to stick with the image for this article.

From Hurricane Hugo in the 80s we in Charlotte learned the value and importance of working together to make things better. At that time I was living in Concord and working in South Charlotte, but still, no one that I knew of expected the winds from Hugo to be so forceful as they came towards the Piedmont. We had all watched hurricanes before, but usually by the time they got to us they were downgraded to a storm warning. That night as I watched the news on when and where Hugo would come to shore, I knew that we had overestimated the power and reach of the storm because already the winds were rattling the windows of my old house in Concord and the storm had not yet touched the shores of Charleston. As many of you remember, Charlotte was a disaster the next day. Many of our old oaks had been uprooted, tearing up streets, sidewalks, house foundations and blocking roads. I tried to get to work but could not even get into the big city. What happened during that time was miraculous as we heard story after story of people pulling together to help each other, to help strangers in need, to get life back to a place where life could move towards goodness. The aftermath of that storm was hope and goodness.

We are still in recovery from the storm of recent financial disaster on a world wide stage. Ask any addict and that person can tell you that to recover from addiction is painful and hard at the very least. We are seeking to beat our addiction to fast money, easy credit and excess. We've taken so many things in our lives for granted. I finally get a decent check and what do I do? I go out and after paying my bills I buy unnecessary plastic objects...because they were pretty and looked like summer. Of course we can use them for picnics I reasoned, but the thing I've not told you yet is that I pretty much hate plastic. Yes, it's sensible for outdoors events and washable, rather than disposable, is a better choice than styrofoam, but still, my choice was one that plagues us all. We waste our money and energy on the very items, the very behavior that got us into this economic disaster in the first place. We focus on big cars that waste gas, fill our closets so full that we think we need a storage building when others in the world fight just to have food and shelter. We are trying to change our habits, our ways of thinking and buying. That doesn't come easy but the very fact that we are doing it throughout the nation will make a difference. As an individual we have power, as a group of hopeful people we can change our nation through a new style of leadership; leadership through example.

Signs are showing that the economy is changing for the good, for hope and it's a partial credit to President Obama because he continues to work on resolving the governmental issues and challenges of how government abused our financial systems. The real rescue team however is you and me. I've been moved as I see my neighbors reaching out to those in need by providing shelter when they can and if they can't, then at least a bag of groceries, a tank of gas for those out of jobs. People who never networked before began talking to one another about how to get medicines while unemployed and the prayers, so many prayers going up. "I'm praying for your family" or "I found a job, my prayers were answered." Hope is a powerful motivator and when coupled with goodness of heart can become a wind of change.

The President and our economists are giving us realistic news that this challenge is not over, a recovering economy takes time and hard work. We are doing our work. We are tightening our belts, working to find different ways to live that are economically and ecologically sound. We are not only hoping for change, we are becoming the change we hoped for.