Write to Empower Archives - Hope

Hope is A Four-Letter Word

The dictionary defines hope as "desire accompanied with expectation for fulfillment." Hope and hopelessness are two ends of a spectrum. Hope says there must be a better way, and hopelessness says “What’s the use?” One person’s version of hope maybe H for helplessness, O for oppressed, P for passive, and E for expectations. Friedrich Nietzsche would agree: “Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torment of man.” While Oliver Wendell Holmes says: "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." Some people feel that without hope there is no life. How do you feel about hope? Are you hoping and praying “your ship will come in, or that your prince will sweep you up, or that you will someday be perfect?”

Instead of being hung on the horns of hope, use the word trust instead. Trust carries a higher vibration, and “hope" is often just a mere step above victim, breeding powerlessness like a rabbit. We can develop the power of trust. Hope inherently is passive, while trust is based on action. When we learn to trust we first release our expectations, then open to receive a message from our intuition, or higher power. Trust is like a muscle that gets stronger whenever we flex our trust. Hope is us sitting by the window watching the parade of life go by, hoping for something better. We have to train ourselves to trust. We develop our trust by listening to the small voice inside us which tells us exactly what to say, what to decide. What does it feel like when something feels true and trustworthy? Does it sound like a bell ringing, or feel like infinite space opening up inside you, or a bright blue light flooding your heart? By recognizing the echo of trust either physically, audibly, or visually we learn to trust our heart.

I stay away from using the word hope because it keeps me focused on the results in any situation rather than being present in the moment. For me hope holds the sharp edges of expectation and disappointment. All too often I have allowed myself to be bloodied by those sharp edges. Today, I can no longer sit on life’s fence not daring to believe that life is good. I am grateful for the goodness in my life, in the love I feel flowing around me, and the beauty I see in nature. Today I choose to flex my intuition muscle and wait for the guidance I will gratefully receive. I know that when I am willing to cast out old ideas and the shackles of my self-will I can accomplish wonders. I do my best to let the future take care of itself. The future will consist of “todays”, and “todays”, stretching out to who knows when. When I learn from yesterday, and live for today, hope is justified by the many right “nows”, by the rightness of the present. When I am pleased and accepting of right now, all is good.

This week’s exercise is to examine how you feel about hope and trust. Which one works best for you? Write down all the things in life that you hope for. Read over your list, and see how you feel. Then on another sheet write all the things that you trust you will receive. How is writing this list different from the first one? Lastly write down all the things in your life today that you are grateful for being able to embrace, know, or see. Now how do you feel?

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Copyright Mari Selby, July 20, 2010