How Can Hope Guide Us?

Have you ever felt lost, scared, or downtrodden? Have your life circumstances ever felt so overwhelming that you were unsure of how to move forward? Have you doubted your ability to bounce back from a major setback?

The truth is, we’ve all had moments like this—periods in our lives that feel as if we’re trapped in a deep canyon, unable to see the sunlight. We wonder if life will ever feel joyful or normal again. In my experience, the force that can pull us from this darkness is HOPE.

Hope helps us stay positive, no matter what life throws our way. It allows us to grow and thrive, giving us the courage to take risks and work through difficult situations. I think of hope as a powerful motivator that emboldens us to keep going, keep trying.

When you allow yourself to hope, you begin seeing possibilities and potential solutions. Feelings of dread, anxiety, or fear are replaced with a sense of optimism and determination. You become filled with the conviction that, yes, you can (and will!) make it through this.

Hope also inspires us to pursue our dreams, even when the odds are against us. It gives us the strength to push aside our distractions (and silence the naysayers) and focus on our goals. It encourages us to take action and keep going, no matter how hard the challenge may be.

If you find yourself short on hope and mired in misfortune, I encourage you to start thinking about the potentials that lay in front of you—the “what ifs.” Dare to hope for the best possible outcomes. Just as the smallest candle can help light a room, so, too, can a spark of hope illuminate possibilities.

Make the tenacious decision to hope.

Sincerely, Louise Griffith

www.OneShiningLight.com

As a bonus, here is a lovely poem by Emily Dickinson related to hope:

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

?

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

?

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.