Hold On: There's Hope!

This Charlie Mackesy quote brought tears to my eyes when I saw it, because in that moment I was feeling sorely unappreciated, unsupported and unsuccessful.  There are many lovely sayings on the mugs in the London Writers’ Salon shop, but this was the one that evoked an immediate visceral reaction for me.  Not because I was considering doing any harm to myself or anyone else, just feeling sad and discouraged.

(Please reach out immediately if you are truly feeling desperate and tempted to harm.*  I know many people are actually that heartbroken and terrified now.)

I actually have lots of love and support in my life, and I’m quite successful in many ways, but I don’t always feel like that.  No one does.  Sometimes the best medicine is just a reminder that everybody, even those we admire or envy the most, the people who seem to have everything or have it all together - all succumb to fear, frustration and fury at times. 

There are lots of reasons why it might be hard to hold on these days.  Personal, economic, political, environmental - we’re facing a lot of challenges, and carrying a lot of responsibility and stress.

Yet it’s funny how they all have the same answer, initially: hope.  We hold on because there’s hope.  Perhaps hope can be a trite version of wishful thinking, but it can also be an emotion that triggers our bodies to decrease the flow of stress hormones and power up some intelligent parts of our brains that just aren’t invited to the pity party or the brawl.  

We can look outside ourselves for hope, whether to another person or community, faith in spiritual beings or teachings.  Even the laws of science and the ways of Nature show us how life can continue and healing and growth are still possible even beyond the greatest cataclysms we can imagine.

This wise warm beverage bearer reminds us why we should look inward for our hope as well.  We can make hope a practice, along with gratitude, compassion and the other Reiki Precepts, like not letting anger and worry take over and become unhealthy. Not only can hope help our bodies to relax and our minds solve problems better, we can also gently place our healing hands on our hearts or anyplace we feel tension, and allow hope to arise. It gets easier with practice.

Let’s take a look at all the wonderful unique things we each contribute to make our world better, even on our worst day, in the face of unfathomable looming threats.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments: What do you bring to this world that no one else can?  If you can’t think of anything, ask someone who knows you.  You might be surprised! You can also email me at connect@essentialarts.net, and I'll bet I can help you find your something special!

Then tag or share this with someone else, and tell them what you see in them that they bring to the world that no one else can.

I’m excited to be crafting a cornucopia of holiday gifts and offerings to help you bring forth your unique contributions, feel better and be healthier, and arrive at the threshold of the new year Ready to Thrive in 2025!

Meanwhile, you can book a free Welcoming Optimal Wellness/Reiki demo session with me, and subscribe to the Essential Arts newsletter at www.essentialarts.net.

*You can call the 988 Lifeline or get in touch with me at connect@essentialarts.net.  I am not a trained therapist nor a mandated reporter.  I do have training in crisis advocacy and hotline support, and chaplaincy.  As a librarian I will try to connect you with helpful resources, and as a Reiki Healing Arts practitioner, provider and teacher I can offer support and self-care guidance.