Begin to Hope -

How can we begin to hope?

The wonderful actor, Christopher Reed, who played Superman, became paralysed from the neck down after a horse riding accident.

He said this about hope:

Once you choose hope anything’s possible ~

Interestingly, it is often those facing the greatest adversity in life who show us ways of accessing the greatest hope.

We use the word hope frequently in our daily life.

How often do we say?

• I hope so
• I feel hopeful
• I hope things work out
• I hope you're feeling better
• I'm hoping for good weather.

We talk about having hope for the future and the need to instill hope in our children. When times are bleak we reinforce hope within our families through love, commitment and time.

The definition of hope is expectation, trust, anticipation, optimism.

To have hope is to dream, to aspire, to plan, to have faith, to take chances, to prospect, to believe in likelihoods and possibilities.

Hope is a sense of renewal, a confident desire, a looking forward, a feeling that something is likely to happen.

The opposite of hope is despair –

In despair hope seems lost.

We believe that good things happen for others but never to us. We feel hopless, alone, uncertain. Our expectations leave us and our existence feels limited. With limited expectations hope is limited. With a limited sense of self, our hope is limited.

Begin to Hope

Shifting house to a new city, I was caught in a fierce storm as I drove late at night. The storm was frightening in its intensity, mirroring my inner fears of moving homes, of beginning again.

As it became impossible to see, I was forced to pull over to the roadside and there I wept out my fears as I waited for the worst of the deluge to depart.

In my despair my focus was on the darkness – of all I was losing, of all I didn’t know and couldn’t see ahead. I remember thinking that both the outer conditions and my inner thoughts resembled a long black tunnel with no light at the end. Eventually I arrived at my hotel and fell exhausted into sleep.

Imagine then, my surprise the next morning when I discovered the house I was to rent lay bathed in sunshine, amidst a glorious garden awash with scented blossoms and beauty.

Then it occurred to me that while I was weeping my fears in the darkness, this glorious home was already waiting for me, just around the corner, just out of sight, but already there - already a part of my future reality.

Hope is seeing beyond

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions." - Dalai Lama

To hope is to risk pain

The reward is a more authentic life

Let go your attachment to the outcome

While we are deciding and controlling the end result, we don’t allow the monumental field of possibilities that is open to us just beyond our vision.

To have hope fully realized is to accept where I am now – in the present – the power of NOW.

Hope Quotes

Hope is always available to us. When we feel defeated, we need only take a deep breath and say, "Yes," and hope will reappear ~ Monroe Forester

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all ~ Dale Carnegie

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty ~ Winston Churchill