“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”
- Desmond Tutu
2020. The unimaginable happened and the world shut down. As we tried to take it all in, scrambled to feed our families and homeschool our children, the news kept coming at us. Then in May, we, as a nation, had to face our country’s
deep-seated racism in the ugliest way imaginable as we witnessed the murder of George Floyd.
Families have suffered through job loss, sickness and death during this Covid19 period. Our country is in turmoil as we look toward the future, and there is much to do. Now, the holidays are approaching and we miss family and friends as we struggle to decide how to celebrate yet feel safe.
How do we cope? What do we say to our friends as they grieve? How do we cope with our own fear and confusion? What do we tell our children?
We tell them that there is always a light;
there is always good if we look for it. There is always hope.
When we take action, when we decide to move forward with our lives, no matter the circumstances, we are lighting that little flame of hope within us and that is EVERYTHING.
There is hope when we reach out to help a neighbor or listen to someone’s problems.
When a tremendous number of people take to the streets in a united way to say no more, that is hope.
When we laugh with our friends and everything seems normal for a few minutes, that is hope.
There is always, always hope and there are always, always choices.
The time has come for you to choose how you will move forward. What actions will YOU take to survive, and live in this continuously changing atmosphere? How will you find the light of hope within you? How will you help others to find some peace?
How will YOU help to make this a better world?
Take some time for calm and quiet. Create some time for peace. You can get up in the morning before anyone else, and connect with your spirit and the love within you. Pray, meditate, or just sit still and enjoy the quiet. Even people who are alone right now still need to take time for contemplation and thought. This is the time to reflect on how you will move forward in your personal life and in the world.
Connect with your community and support each other. Even when we can’t see each other in person, we have many ways to reach out to others. We need other people to share our grief, anger, loneliness, worry. We need each other to share good news when we hear it. We need to laugh together. Look for ways to help and support.
Control what you can control. There are more opportunities to do this than you may think. You don't have to read or listen to news about COVID-19 or nonsense news every minute of every day. You can choose how to spend your time. You can choose negative or positive thoughts. That is powerful.
Think about your actions and how you are choosing to react. You can be scared, and still be kind. You can recognize your anxiety and still react with healthy actions for yourself. You can feel angry or mean and choose to breathe deeply before you express your thoughts. You can speak up, reach out and help others. You can choose to look for the light, the good, the inspirational, and the hope.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the
human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances,
to choose one’s own way.”
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
You, right now, are reading these words and it is your present. This is NOW.
Feel the power of making choices RIGHT NOW that will benefit you and others in the future.
When we can’t change a situation, we always have the power to change ourselves. Never, ever give up hope.
“For the world is in a bad state,
but everything will become still worse unless each of us does his best.”
--Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
Please scroll down to comment. Happy Holidays! Love from Diana
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