Hope.
A feeling of trust.
A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
To look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.
To feel as if something desired may happen.
Once you choose hope, anything is possible.
Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.
Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in your life or the world in general. At this particular moment in 2020, we need hope and we need to create an environment for ourselves that fosters, nurtures and encourages hope. When I think about hope, it’s a bit counterintuitive, I don’t focus as much on the feelings or the future, “being hopeful” as much as I try and remove the barriers of hope. Those pesky little barriers can creep in and suck the hope right out of you. Anxiety and worry are two of the greatest hope-suckers. When you are consumed with worry and always wondering "what if", it’s easy to lose sight, lose focus. The glimmering light of hope starts to fade. Staying present. Do not look back. When you start to look back; regrets and mistakes come bubble up to the surface, making it very difficult to look forward to positive outcomes; a.k.a. lose hope.
Stay present in the moment.
Be Kind.
Surround yourself with positive people.
Adjust your expectations.
One day - you will be brilliant. It was probably five days after surgery and it was time for a number of tubes to come out. When you are a patient in a teaching hospital, you have plenty of eager residents, willing to learn, willing to help. A young resident was on the left-side of my bed, and she was checking two of my drain tubes. As she was getting ready to remove the tubes, she said, one day - you will be brilliant. She proceeded to yank out the tubes, I still have the scars to prove it. But you know what, in that moment, when those scars were formed, hope was born. The seed was planted. To this day, I will never forget her kind words. Her words were a promise for a better tomorrow. Her words insinuated, I would get better, I would heal and I would be brilliant one day. Hope was born.
So, I am telling you now, one day - you will brilliant.
Write about a silver lining that appeared from a not so good situation that happened recently …
Write about what makes you unique?
What are you most excited about today?
What brings you joy?
What attribute of God is most significant to you?
Write about the words you need to hear right now.
keep pushing through