I am weary.
Over the past year and a half, on top of the pandemic, my family was hit with medical emergencies that were out of control. I suffered a back injury as I leaned down to pick up laundry (lesson learned!) The pain was like nothing I had ever experienced. The other issues were even more serious.
I am weary because Russia is a nightmare, women's rights are in more danger than ever and here we are, fighting with each other and arguing, and it's all too much.
It's all too much.
I am weary. Every day brings new information about the world, and so much of it is heartbreaking.
I know I’m not alone in feeling this.
And yet… and yet... even though I may feel weary at night, saddened or worried about whatever, I wake up in the morning, determined to try again.
Because that's what we do, don't we? We keep trying as long as we can, as long as we are able. I think the only reason so many of us can do this is because a part of us feels hope. Hope is everything. If you can find hope at all, you can make it.
The Ukrainians are not giving up hope, and as we listen to Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
President of Ukraine, we can feel their hope. Hope is what makes them so strong.
I can't give up the hope that our country will survive all of the bullshit and come out stronger. I won't give up hope that there will be equality for everyone. I won't give up hope that women will have access to all the healthcare they need without anyone telling them they can't. I won't give up hope that we can save people from human trafficking. These are the hopes that give me the energy to take action.
Maybe just deciding you will have hope could be a thing too.
"I will hope."
Just saying those words may make you feel better.
When you make the decision to encourage hope to enter your life, you are making a decision to not give up. If you want to be happy, that's a great decision.
Hope can surprise us by sneaking in at our darkest times, which is absolutely wonderful, but we can encourage hope to reach us with some positive behaviors.
The following list may help you determine what you need to do to feel more hopeful. Some may seem simple, others not so much, but these have helped me and I hope they help you too.
Start your day with time to yourself. Fifteen minutes of quiet as you wake up and enjoy your coffee or tea, is such a calming yet focused way to begin the day.
Be grateful for every single good thing you have in your life. Name these things to yourself as you go about your day.
Breathe. Take slow deep breaths when you feel stressed. (Powerful!)
Take breaks from social media.
Take breaks from the news.
Dump the dead weight. That means stop hanging around with negative people. If you live with them, protect yourself by not getting drawn into arguments. Negative people make us feel hopeless and too much bad news can shake up the strongest of spirits. Eliminate that junk and you leave room for hope. Negative thinking is a habit that can be broken. Break it and replace it with gratitude, love and laughter.
Speaking of laughter, laugh every day. Even if you are by yourself!
Read, garden, knit, cook, take walks. It’s ok to use healthy hobbies to escape sometimes.
Move. Do not sit in the same space for long periods of time. It’s not healthy for your body or mind. Stretch, dance, or walk. Just move.
Make sleep a priority. This is one of the healthiest ways to feel better and boost feelings of hope. If you have trouble falling asleep, you may need to stop going immediately from television or computer to your bed. Take some time to prepare for a good rest. A warm bath, light reading, or soft music may help. When you lay down to sleep, think about all the things you accomplished instead of what you didn’t do. Then tighten and release each part of your body. Relax. Again, think of good things that happened during the day, no matter how small.
I feel hopeful as I write these words. Just thinking about ways that we can feel more hopeful by taking care of ourselves, makes me happy.
Hope can lead to action, whether it is changing your thinking or changing your choices. Something changes.
You change.
It starts with hope.
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Yes. I talk to so many people who are frightened and worried. Thanks for the read!
Thank you for sharing! I think so many of us feel this right now.