What Gives Me Hope?

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What gives me hope?

Knowledge is advancing.

From the Higgs Boson… to the mapping of the Human Genome… to life-saving Medical Breakthroughs... to Advances in Robotics… to Mobile technologies… to Social Media…to software breakthroughs …… knowledge is advancing.

That gives me hope.

What gives me hope?

Health means more than doctors.

From eating a balanced diet….to exercising regularly…..to making sure we get enough sleep and relaxation…..to paying more attention to the impact of our lifestyle choices on the illnesses we are susceptible to ….health has come to mean more than running to doctors for tests and prescriptions.

That gives me hope.

What gives me hope?

Fairness is winning over tradition.

Whether it is woman’s rights, or kid’s rights, or gay rights, rights of minorities and disadvantaged populations, or animal rights, fairness is winning over tradition.

That gives me hope.

 

What gives me hope?

New spiritual leaders have emerged.

From Mahatria (thanks Aarati), Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in the East.....to Eckhart Tolle, Allan Watts, Chuck Swindoll, John C Maxwell, Wayne Dwyer, Deepak Chopra in the West, new spiritual leaders have emerged.

That gives me hope.

 

What gives me hope?

Personal change is alive and well.

Whether it’s the amazing story of Chuck Colson and his founding of Prison Fellowship after being sent to jail for his participation in the Watergate scandal, or the hope-inspiring story of Travel Channel’s Andrew Zimmern’s recovery from addiction, or the story of Alferd Williams who learned to read at age 70, personal change is alive and well.

That gives me hope.

 

Hope is essential to life.  The student hopes to learn and to graduate with flying colors.  Young adults hope to succeed in all areas of life, even the areas in which their parents didn’t. The bride and groom going up the altar hope for a long and happy married life. The musician hopes to enthrall his audiences.  The writer hopes to inform, to persuade, to motivate or to delight his readers. The speaker hopes to be heard and remembered. The entrepreneur hopes his company will survive and thrive. The reformer hopes to create change. The person who has done something wrong hopes to repent and turn his life around. The doctor hopes to heal.  The inventor hopes to create new products. The researcher hopes to make discoveries.  The person with a new idea hopes her or his idea catches on. The teacher hopes to impart knowledge and inspire a life of learning. The thinker hopes for fresh insights.

If we don’t have hope, it means we are just going through the motions. It is hope which gives us the power to move forward, to carry on.  Indeed, if we give up in any area of our lives, it’s only because we have lost hope. What are the areas of life in which you are guilty of lacking hope?  Do you believe that you, your family, your charges, your company, your organization, your city, your state, your country, or the world, is going to hell in a hand basket? Ask yourself if that kind of thinking can lead to anything good. Think about it.  If you believe there’s hope, you will not give up trying and you will also not be cynical about other people trying. If however, you don’t believe there’s hope, you are not going to be motivated to try anything yourself, and you won’t see the point in anyone else trying either.  Don’t be that kind of "hope-less" person.  It’s time to make hope your friend again.  Don’t be surprised if it leads to the most productive, satisfying and fulfilling phase in your life and ripples out, impacting not just your life, but the lives of many more people.  Hope always does. As always, thanks for reading and have a great day…..M, a Pearlseeker like you.