For 15 years, I lived on a small ranch in Southern California, just outside Temecula, which was an official stop on Butterfield Overland Stage, the southern stage line across the US in the mid-1800’s. Just off the corner of our ranch were the remnants of an old swing station for that stage line (with its own historical marker) which was essentially one of the stage driver’s homes where passengers could stretch their legs, and the horses could be watered or switched. Swing stations were defined by the fact that no tickets were sold there, and no overnight accommodations were provided. While living at the ranch, I studied anything I could find on the BO Stage history. Much of it was anecdotal and hilarious, if not awe-inspiring, given the hardships endured by hundreds of passengers who took the treacherous 1100-mile journey.
Recently, while listening to my book club’s selection this month, The Wright Brothers by David McCullough, I was introduced to a famous saying from the BO Stage drivers, “Cheer up, boys! There’s no hope!” I laughed out loud when I heard it.
And, of course, it got me thinking. So many people with whom I speak are feeling like there is no hope—no hope for finding good, hardworking employees for their open positions; no hope or preventing AI’s disastrous impact; no hope for the Middle East; no hope for our screen-addicted children; no hope for our country.
Well, cheer up, boys! There’s no hope!
What does that even mean? Here’s what I take from it: If there is no hope, and that is our unchangeable destiny, what will worrying about it now do except ruin where we are today? Will it change the future? No, only intention and action will do that, not worry. Worry is nothing more than envisioning the worst and stressing over an imaginary future. And the biggest problem is that our bodies can’t discern between what we are actually experiencing right now and what we are imagining we will experience. Stopping the useless train of worry is a discipline worth pursuing in my estimation if you want to truly enjoy your “now.”
This comical statement suggests that, if the truth is there is no hope, then why not cheer up? You have your answer, so let’s go out with a bang and smile. But, if there is the possibility that “things are always working out for us in the end” and “miracles happen,” then maybe, just maybe, we should focus on that. Given the alternative, I’ll pick that effort every time.
This week, cheer up, boys (and girls)! The future is ours to write. It’s ours to imagine. It’s ours to influence and experience. And, if that worst-case scenario actually does happen, well, we won’t have wasted our “now” in any other state than one of gratitude, positive expectation, happiness, and joy.
Boom.
“You’re worried about ‘what-ifs.’ Well, what if you stop worrying?”
~ Shannon Celebi
