From Hopeless to Hopeful

Hi, it's Dora here. Something I've noticed, and maybe you've noticed this too, is when we look out at the world and things seem really bad. We see the news, current events, all the coverage in media, and it's so easy to feel powerless way down, and most of all, hopeless. We may have thoughts of what's the point? Things will never get better, so why bother? And when there's tragedies in the world, one after another, this feeling and these thoughts are quite common and valid. Yet, what's also going on around us are small gestures renewing our sense of hope everywhere, like those random acts of kindness when a complete stranger holds the door open for you, or when we receive encouragement from an unexpected place. These are tiny seeds of hope that are planted throughout our everyday lives that can remind us of the potential of possibility. Meditation can help us train our minds to recognize and appreciate the goodness that surrounds us, just as much as we can be aware of the bad. And if you think about it, each and every one of us is a descendant of hope. From the beginning of time, challenges have always been present. Hope doesn't disappear in the face of adversity. It endures despite the most challenging of circumstances. It's a quiet and trusting confidence that guides us forward, even when things around us may seem uncertain and unsettling. Being hopeful means cultivating a presence of optimism that recognizes that life may not turn out in the way we want it, but we can still maintain a sense of compassion and empathy despite the outcome. So in this mindful reflection exercise, we'll practice this training of the mind and begin to plant to few seeds of hope and possibility that we can nurture and tend to in our everyday lives. You can do this practice with your eyes closed, or you can grab a journal and take time to pause and answer each question as you follow along. So with that being said, let's begin to settle in, settling into the mind and into the body, sitting upright with both feet on the floor, hands resting on your lap or down by your side. And your eyes can be open to a soft, gentle gaze or closed, whatever feels right for you. Now, taking a few deep breaths, breathing in through the nose, expanding the belly, and then breathing out through the mouth, inviting a sense of stillness and presence into the body and mind. And then returning the breath back to its natural rate and natural rhythm, bringing to mind now, what gives you a sense of hope? What keeps you hopeful? And what does this hope look like in the world? And as different thoughts begin to arise in the mind, noticing the difference sensations that begin to bloom in the body, feeling into this sense of possibility and hope, tuning into what it feels like to...