.
HOPE is the ability to see the light in the darkest of situations.
They say the difference between a pessimist and an optimist is as follows…
A pessimist is a person who sees the difficulty in every opportunity.
An optimist is a person who sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Hope by its very nature has to be one of those things (it’s not really a thing!!) that we describe as abstract – again you can’t see, hear, taste, touch or smell it. If I asked you to show it to me or give me a bucket of it could you give it to me?
Surely your answer to me would be – Roger “Don’t be ridiculous” but like many abstract things that we describe as ridiculous they, in turn are vital to our existence. Hope is certainly vital to our existence for without it life wouldn’t be worth living.
Ultimately hope is a state of mind – In the dictionary it is described as; Hope is an optimistic attitude of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large.
You see, life ultimately is all about choices and to be specific what is our choice if we don’t have hope. No Hope!!!!!
Not really a great place to be no matter what the situation. Even from a pure peace of mind and well-being point of view, give me a splinter of hope any day.
We see this played out on our sports fields week in and week out. A football team is 10 points down in the second half – something happens, hope kicks in and suddenly the flood gates open and all sorts of possibilities arise.
Go back to our ancestors time. If you were lost in a forest surrounded by wild ferocious animals – you still have to hang on to the slimmest possibility of hope that there is a pathway out – survival instinct of the most primeval form kicks in.
From the spiritual aspect of our lives – Jesus (The Messenger) gives us a message from His Father – The message is “I Am (is) The Way the Truth and The Life”
He then tells us to “come follow” His message and He will guarantee us peace and happiness within, both in this world and in the next.
When we put our faith in ‘This Truth’ and trust it with all our hearts then Hope springs eternal.
Jesus asks us to put our Hope in Him and in His message and even in what appears to be the darkest of moments He will deliver. When we do this with utmost faith and conviction (i.e. all doubt is removed) then a certain ‘peace’ comes over us. This deep peace is oven referred to as ‘Grace’.
Just like in nature when the starlings form a murmuration in flight they know that they are on the right track. Grace tells us we are on the right track, when we follow His direction and our Hope will deliver.
Next week I am going to write about – Charity
• Roger Harty is a life coach and can be contacted on 087-6128336, on twitter at @Innerjoyz1 or by email rogharty@gmail.com
