I completely believe in the concept of hope. People can survive great life crisis and circumstances on the idea of hope.
The hope that things will get better and change. The hope that pain and suffering will be alleviated.
Hope has gotten me through many difficult periods in my life.
The problem with just relying on hope though is that hope is not a verb; it is not an action word.
Hope is an idea, somewhat of a fantasy. Hope is like a vase of fresh cut flowers that sit on your table. Beautiful and inspiring at first but as time goes by they start to wilt and then they eventually die…the same principles apply to hope that is not accompanied by action…
I have spent a lot of time hoping and not acting. I have hoped to feel better physically, emotionally and spiritually at different times in my life. I hoped with fierce passion. I have screamed out to the universe for change and gotten angry that my hopes didn’t become realities.
Letting my hopes, like the dying flowers, turn into hopelessness. This is the point. We need more than hope. We need fire underneath those hopes.
If I hope to feel better physically then I need to get off of the couch, hit the gym and change my behaviors. If I hope to feel better spiritually then I need to drop to my knees and pray to my god. I need to find people who share similar and different spiritual values and engage them in dialogue. If I hope to feel better emotionally then I need to focus on being around healthy individuals and engaging in healthy emotional behaviors.
I have developed lots of new hopes. I hope to travel the world. I hope to meet someone special to share my life with, someone to love and cherish and to be loved and cherished by. I hope to write a book. I hope to become a Dean someday, maybe a College President. I hope to be fulfilled spiritually and emotionally. I hope to continue to make and maintain healthy and balanced relationships with friends.
The differences about my new hopes are that I realize I have to do something about them. I can’t wait for the universe to dump them in my lap. I have to work for them, set goals, fire myself up about them. I have to put effort into making my hopes a reality. I have to own them. I have to make them happen. What an empowering idea…
What are your hopes…fire yourself up and make them your realities…stop thinking and start doing…let’s turn hope into reality together…
Keeping it Real with Dr. Mary G.
Hope to get some Chinese food brought to my doorstep. Wait a minute... Ohhh I get it! Maybe I should pick up the phone and place the order. Even better, how bout I call a friend and meet at the restaurant to eat Chinese food... how novel!
ReplyDeleteHope is my potential, achieving my potential takes action. I could have hoped to recover from past choices and outcomes, but for me the real "meat and potatoes" came when I became honest with myself, my god, and others. Saw life for what it was, not living in the past or the future, but being present in the here and now... Reality... life on life's terms. Ultimately lots and lots of behavioral modification, defined by doing everything differently. I needed a good "brainwashing" which was letting go of my old ideas and accepting
new ones. Revelation came with TIME! What had been ingrained and assimilated for 38 years was not going to change overnight. Damn! I hate when that happens! Peace!