The sun yawns and a glowing orange breath spills over the horizon trying on shades of pink, red and gold until it selects the perfect blend of colors to herald the sunrise. It brings hope for a new day that will soar before it wanes, wraps itself in the deepening purple and violet blanket of sunset to slumber, filled with hope that the sun will rise again.
We are lost souls without Hope.
Hope can be as stoic as a sturdy sail that stays the course or as flighty as the shifting wind in a storm, but I contend that hope is not only universal but vital.
At first glance hope and wishes can pass for synonyms. A wish is a desire or strong feeling that you want to have something or do something. We pick out a bright blue star and make a wish. We exhale a silent wish over the candles of a Birthday cake. Hope also expresses desires. Wishes and hopes both pursue happiness and delight over positivity.
One differentiation is that hope endures as an optimistic state of mind, a platform to build expectations of positive outcomes in one’s life and the world we live in. It infuses life with action and nudges us confidently and hopefully toward a desired or cherished goal.
Hope can be a reasonable emotion. There is always a possibility that you will win the lottery before the credit card bill is due. As long as the grades aren’t posted, it is possible that you passed the test. Then there are times when nothing is going to work because there is no fix. That is when you need to let go and discover a new hope.
Bad things happen. We encounter bullies, hatred, disappointment, anger, mind-numbing jobs and indifference. In response, there are those that seem genetically predisposed to beat their chest and cry “woe is me!” They waste time longing for the past or a do over, finding frustration instead.
Others inexplicably turn negative circumstances into positive achievements. They acknowledge disappointment but refuse to accept it as the final result. They are the ones who dig deeper, beyond the external circumstances and past the negativity coating the surface. Digging deeper unearths an untapped reserve of opportunity and positive power. It can be used to redirect your mind to move in the direction of the most precious values necessary to build a life that’s rich and full.
Happiness is a progeny of hope. If you feel that you could never be happy with things the way they are, you’re absolutely right. If you expect that only certain things are capable of bringing you happiness, you limit the frontiers of hope. When you choose to be happy with whom you are and with what you’re doing, conditions improve and hope swells.
Whatever you hope to attain, first realize it within yourself. Once it is truly a part of you, it will continue growing, adding new value to your life that cannot be lost. Nothing outside of you can diminish the positive energy hope brings. New wishes will rise from its strength.
Many people wait and hope for that one big break that will bring about immediate success. Don’t discount small successes. They create momentum of achievement leading in a positive direction that takes you wherever you hope to go.
Live life like it counts for something truly wonderful, and it will. The transient moments, the trivial artifacts of the world come and go. And through it all, the joys remain, always with you, somewhere
Perhaps it seems naive or disingenuous to choose happiness when the world is overflowing with treacherous challenges and dangers. However, the current global confrontations are the primary reasons that so many of us are losing hope. We cannot change what has already happened, but we can turn away from it and focus on realizing our deepest and most profound purposes with all the energy we can muster.
It is human nature to always find fresh cause for optimism.
Realize that it doesn’t matter who is at fault or how it happened, but it is important to decide what you’re going to do about it. Surrender resentment and choose to build, create and improve the future.
What will you hope for when your wishes have come true? What will you do when you find the happiness you seek? Is there new hope behind hope? Can you visualize the purpose behind each goal? When you reach your ideal destination, what’s next?
Whatever it is, start doing it and, unexpectedly, you are already there. You don’t need to wait until your wishes come true to start living the reality of their truth and their purpose. There is a reason behind every hope and it lives in you even now.
Allow yourself to fully live each day. Laugh hysterically, cry a river of tears, love unconditionally and wonder out loud. Taste with gusto, listen with your heart, learn with your spirit and see with your mind’s eye. Lay down your burdens and toss away your worries. You are free and alert, adaptable, resourceful and able to reach ever higher. You’ll find that it is more than enough.
When life is frenzied, when your plans go askew, when anxiety overpowers you, stop and remember who you are. The troubles of the moment may seem overwhelming. Remember, though, they are relatively minor when compared to the big picture. Keep your perspective and know there is hope.
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. Martin Luther King, Jr.