Hope For Your Brave New Tomorrow

In my experience, most religious and spiritual belief systems share messages of hope. Hope is one of those universal words. It appears in the vocabulary of all faiths, all spiritual explorations, all humans. In the last many years, it has not mattered to me as much as it used to what those religious or spiritual belief systems are. There is room in my mind and spirit and consciousness for all messages of hope. I need them all.

The opposite of hope is fear. Fear that we will never be enough. That we won’t be successful. That we will make mistakes. That the love we seek will not be returned. That others will not accept us for who we think we are or who we want to become.

I have so many hopes for teen humans as they struggle to find themselves . . . as they face their fears. I put words like positivity, healthy habits, creativity, intuition, personal power, and forgiveness in front of my hopes for them. But my hopes are not what will make the difference for teens or for each of you.

Willingness to try and fail, and fail again, to be in the midst of fear and sense that you will be okay is the key. After willingness comes action. One step towards a dream or a goal . . . just one small action . . . can make all the difference. We get as many do-overs as we need.

Hope can come with expectations. For example, we may expect to have joy during the holidays, but holidays are not always joyful. We can surrender to the fact that reality does not always align with hope. We can accept that we are in charge of our own joy.

Some of my friends helped me come up with some ways to attain more hope and have fewer expectations with less fear. Here’s what they said:

·      Sometimes doing nothing is what I need to do.

·      I can keep my mouth shut.

·      I can give love without expectations.

·      I can focus on gratitude.

·      I can be around children and experience their joy.

·      I can have a good cry.

·      I can have compassion towards someone or some thing I don’t like.

·      I can find some acceptance of what is happening in my life and my world.

·      I can go with the flow, without reacting when the crazy happens.

·      I can take deep breaths . . . I can just keep breathing.

·      I can be deliberate: where am I putting my feet, my hands, my thoughts?

·      I can be present in the moment and make a meditation out of every action.

·      I can be mindful. Be gentle. Be peaceful.

·      I can be accepting of myself and towards myself.

·      I can be kinder in the world.

From my family to yours, I wish you a season full of joy and hope. I wish you a brave new tomorrow.