Easter Sunday 2025
Easter. I asked Google's Gemini to describe Easter to me, and this is part of what it said that stood out to me: “representing the triumph of life over death, hope over despair, and good over evil.”
A few days ago, we had to put down our oldest dog, Daisy. I instantly felt comforted by the thought of her being watched after by my best friend Mac, who is already up in heaven. I'm sure he's stoked about the opportunity to dog-sit until I can go and join them. So, that was my triumph of life over death within the depth of grief caused by the latter.
With tariff wars, mass shootings, a rise in homelessness, a rise in overdoses, a decrease in education and health programs, and a news cycle that seems endlessly dark, it is easy to fall into a pit of despair. Hope often seems like a dirty word we are afraid to say because it somehow makes us seem childish. As if having hopes and dreams means you cannot also have success, and that is the only thing that seems to be measured these days. But all of it is nothing more than a test, in my humble opinion. A test to be able to hold onto hope even when the world seems to yell at you not to. That hope is just as contagious as COVID, and we can spread it to all those we come in contact with. Have you ever met that person who is so deep into their passion that they seem ignorant of the world around them? That is hope in the form of creation. We all can hold onto little pieces of hope that we come across every single day. Seeing the humanity in the volunteer worker keeping the unhoused warm with blankets and food. The random TikTok of someone buying groceries for a family at Target. The news article about a dog saving a child from a fire. All things we can grab onto and multiply in our own lives with actions. That is my take on hope over despair, just simply my own view.
Good over evil is a concept as old as stories themselves, just like light and dark, happiness and sadness – things that can not exist without the other. Right now, there is a growing mindset that evil is the leading force at work, much like hope and despair. But today, on Easter Sunday, I see no evil. I know it is out there, but it is not my evil to battle today. Today, I am just a father and a motorcyclist. Maybe the way I battle it today is simply by keeping its reach from those I love. What about you? What are you doing to embrace Easter this Sunday?
Cheers!-
Rise ALG
