Don't lose hope

Hope is "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best". (Source: Dictionary.com)

Hope is a powerful and important 4-letter word. To have hope is to want an outcome that makes your life and the lives of others better. Having hope is believing that there is indeed light at the end of every tunnel. And once you have hope, the impossible seems possible, the mountain seems surmountable, and the difficult circumstances seem bearable. It’s for us to use that hope to motivate us to take action to realize our desired outcomes.

We tend to associate hope with negative situations. We hope to overcome obstacles or get out of a tough situation. However, hope can also be used in normal everyday situations when we desire a good or favourable outcome. Such as “I hope you get home safely” when wishing a loved one a safe passage home; or “I hope to see you soon” when talking to someone we haven’t seen in a while; or “I hope I win this time” after buying the umpteenth lottery ticket.

2020 has been a very interesting year so far - a pot-pourri of positive and negative occurrences. As the year has progressed, there have been moments that I have found my hope waning. At those moments, I have had to stop and remind myself that there were still many reasons to be hopeful. While feelings of hopelessness are justifiable in response to bad news or a difficult situation, we should not allow that feeling to prolong. Such is life – some things work out as expected and some things don’t. So, before you start having that pity party, reflect on this quote by Harvey MacKay “Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would most likely be worth it” and keep moving.

I have found maintaining a Gratitude Journal to be helpful in "keeping hope alive", particularly during these challenging times with no apparent end in sight. Making an entry at the end of each day forces me to reflect and recognise that, although many things may not have gone right on that day, there were still reasons to be grateful and this has been made me hopeful.

One of those hopeful days, I wrote the following poem "Never Give Up", which I posted on Instagram on 13 August 2020.

Notwithstanding what's going on in your life or around you, don't lose hope. Things will get better. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. You are alive and, once there is life, there is hope.

Note: The beautiful floral arrangement above, which is sedge with dried ming fern, was created by Mrytle Halsall, who is a member and Past President of the Jamaica Chapter of Ikebana International.

Love, laughter and light!