positively present

positively present

Hope Illuminates

In every life there are moments of darkness and doubt. There are minutes, hours or days that we may be faced with fear. Like darkness that weights us down and keeps us from seeing. Every life, ever moment no matter how dark it may seem has the potential to touch a life. A flicker of hope can illuminate something larger than anyone could have ever imagined possible. Organizations like Make A Wish and Susan G Komen were born from someone finding hope in a moment of darkness. Today these organizations have illuminated millions of lives. Hope is that flicker when you wonder how I will do that says “you can do it’. Hope is that flicker that when you are scared says “you are not alone” Hope is that flicker that if given a chance grows into a flame. Hopes smallest flicker can illuminate and encourage others. Hope is that flicker that enables you to pursue a dream. Hope is that flicker that lights life’s path and upon reflection we see the power of hope to illuminate.

Hope To Inspire

One of my favorite things is movies.  I love them, especially the ones that take me away and enable me to believe in something we may have otherwise lost hope in.  Movies can inspire us to believe in love and hope to find the love they have in the movies.  Movies can capture a sensation of victory at the potential and hope for victory.  Movies can inspire us to believe in our dreams and create hope for the potential for our dreams to become reality.  Then if we look at the movie itself.  Long before there is a screen play there is an individual or individuals that hope to see their ideas on the big screen.  They take an idea and follow their hope until they make it reality.  The writer had an idea of a movie that could make the audience feel, laugh or cry.  They had hope that what they had in their minds could be translated to paper and then through actors and actresses to film.  Movies begin with hope, they can give hope and they can create hope.  That is why I love the movies. 

Enough Hope to Laugh

Hope is when you can laugh more than you cry. They say that laughter is the best medicine, but I believe hope lets you have moments of that all-healing laughter. There was a transition to my grieving the loss of my husband when people would ask me how I was doing. At some point I was able to realize I had happy moments where I could laugh again.

The opposite of hope is despair. Despair is a natural feeling to have when your whole world gets turned upside down. I have a good friend who refers to her life as a snow globe and when something traumatic happens it’s as if someone picked up her world and shook it. Then, just as the flakes settle, there would seem to be something else that would shake it and turn up the calm blanket on the bottom of the globe. With hope, we see the shake ups as disturbing our world but know that there will be a peaceful rest when the dust settles.
The real milestone I reached in my personal global shakeup was when I reached the point where I realized I was laughing more than I was crying. Hope in a future that can be as good as the past and hope in today being better than yesterday is how we heal, grow and ultimately thrive.

Hope From Letters

Today I was doing some spring cleaning and came across a box with hand written letters. Some of them were 15 years old and written by my grandmother. I spent the majority of my childhood with my grandmother. My grandparents adopted me when I was 11 years old so they were my parents. As I removed the letter from the envelop and read her words I felt as if she was there with me, her letter filled me with sadness that she was gone and hope. I wonder if 15 years from now we will open an email and have that same nostalgic feeling. We all know the answer to that question, of course not. There is an art to letter writing. It allows us to reflect on days that have passed.
There were receipts, words of encouragement and the simple tone of her letter. As I read them I felt blessed to have her in my life and to have her letters with me. I appreciate the time she took to send them and I am grateful to still have them. If there is someone in your life that you love and have something you want to share, consider a hand written letter. You never know, years from now those words may offer hope and inspiration.

Symbols of Hope

Symbols have played an important role in people’s lives since the beginning of time. In Old Testament times there were frontlets worn on the forehead or arms to remind the people of covenants. Modern Christianity uses the symbol of the cross for a hope in Christ.

There are symbols throughout nature that give us hope: sunrises welcoming the new day, flowers and trees blooming in spring to let us know the winter is past, a baby being born with hope for a new, exciting life.

Symbols of hope come in many forms and are personal expressions of what we hope for in our own lives. The engagement ring is symbolic of hope in a wonderful life with the one we love. Our Branches of Hope is symbolic of the strength and beauty of women similar to that of the Cyprus tree that has weathered the elements and emerged stronger and more beautiful. Whatever symbol of hope you have, look at it often, touch it and remember that there is much to be hopeful about.

Silent Hope

Hope can be the sole purpose of an action that we aren’t even aware of; it can be completely silent. Recently I was listening to a high school senior explain her dream career. She had every detail planned out, from the college she would attend to her graduate degree in 5 years, to her intern positions and the first step she would make towards her dream career. Her inspiration was an individual that was a VP at 26 and she had researched his path, his degree program, intern positions, and promotions. He had supplied silent hope.

Have you ever heard about something on the news, in the newspaper, or in a conversation and thought, “I could do that?” It may have been a place to vacation, a promotion, or investment. Have you ever watched someone do something, enter a marathon, change careers, or start their own business and been inspired to considered it for yourself? Buying my first home was a risk I took after an acquaintance who was also a single mom purchased her first home.
People, their stories and life offer silent hope to other people they are not even aware are watching. Individuals witness events, or hear about them and are moved to try something they have only dreamed of and consider a change they may have never considered. Have you ever asked yourself what silent hope your life demonstrates to someone else? What dreams have you inspired? My daughter’s base line for marriage is our close friend’s parents. They embody her dream of what marriage after 50 years is. The love, respect and appreciation they have for each other after all these years instill a hope for a life she wants to have.
We may not be aware, however, our lives are an example of hope to our children, friends, family, and beyond. We buy a new car, redo a room, take a vacation, or get a promotion. These things are examples to others of what is possible. This is silent hope.

What Children Teach Us About Hope

There is something about the way a young child sees the world that can make us believe in anything at all. Children seem to believe in miracles even before they happen. They believe that if they wish for something hard enough it will come true. Children have hope that when they blow on a dandelion or see the first star at night their wish will come true. Children know in their hearts that if they find a four-leaf clover they will have good luck. They put faith in the results of blowing out all the candles with one breath. Don’t stop believing just because the there are more candles to blow out.

Hope and Faith Go Hand in Hand

Faith is believing in something where there is not hard evidence. Sometimes the proof comes in a tangible form at some point, but often it is more obscure. Hope on the surface can seem like wishing for something to be true or happen a certain way. Deeper down, hope is more like faith– knowledge in your heart that things will be the way you want. George Iles is an author, editor, biographer who said, “Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.” Some people refer to is as taking the first step, a leap of faith, or stepping off the edge. What ever way you see to it, it is still all about believing and then acting upon that belief.

When we started Waves of Gratitude, there was faith in the good we could provide, hope in each piece falling into place as needed and then there was taking those steps to achieving what we believed could happen. We are still in the process and hope is still as strong as in the first days of development. There were times when hope waned and it took faith in what we were doing to push through the fear. Today hope prevails. Hope will always prevail and turn believing into knowing if we don’t let the hope slip away.

Hope Is Our Heartbeat And Our Breath

May is the month of commencement speeches which are typically given by individuals that have achieved some level of success in their life. The commencement speak is meant to acknowledge the work that has taken place in order to graduate while still inspiring the audience of what lies before them. At the heart of these speeches lives “Hope” for what the future holds.

Every time an athlete steps into the game they are filled with anticipation of their opponents. They are ready to meet the challenge and do what is necessary to win the game. What sets the best apart from the rest? What propels the underdog to win? What enables a grown man to pursue the dream of his youth? Again one word “Hope”

May is the beginning of what many refer to as the wedding season. Brides have dreamed of this day from the time they were little girls. They have planned the perfect dress, the most beautiful cake and the most charming and honorable husband. They are filled with fear and happiness of what is to be and what they are leaving behind. They have rehearsed every detail and calculated exactly how the day will unfold into the perfect day. What motivates this effort and planning besides love? “Hope” that this is only the beginning of the beauty and love their life will hold.
Hope is at the root of every thing we do. It enables us to move forward and take risks. It inspires us and those around us. It lifts ours spirits when life knocks us down. “Hope” is our core in life; it is our heartbeat and breathe wrapped up together.

Hope Floats

“Beginnings are scary. Endings are usually sad, but it’s what’s in the middle that counts. So, when you find yourself at the beginning, just give hope a chance to float up. And it will!” - Hope Floats -1998

I recently heard a speech in which the speaker was saying that sometimes we just need to “let it go.” It was intended to remind people that they need to not get caught up in petty grievances and let the hard feelings go. I took it a little differently, probably because I didn’t feel like I was holding on to any kind of grudges or feelings of being wronged. Instead I took it that when we have things happen to us that are beyond our control, we need to feel what we feel and then move on.
It can be scary to start new and let go of something that is familiar, even if that something is a negative feeling. If we are used to harboring those feelings, then they are what feel normal and right. On the other hand, we do find it sad when a good thing comes to an end. Hope can pull us to begin something new and helps us better handling the end of something good. With hope, ever ending becomes a promising new beginning.

Hope For Forgiveness & Second Chances

There isn't a human I know that hasn't made a mistake. Done the wrong thing, said the wrong thing, it is part of life. The key is to know when we make a mistake and then hopefully have a way to make up for it. Hope motivates us to take a chance and try to correct the mistake. That by making an effor to do the right thing we can restore what has been hurt by our wrong. If you are the person that has been wronged forgiveness is a very important part of life. To acknowledge none of us are perfect. If you are the person seeking forgiveness then we have to be patience. While we may want to correct our mistakes and move on sometimes we need to step back and allow those in our lives time to determine how they want to move forward. However, niether party had the right to make the other person feel like less of a person.  We must stay hopeful that if not now sometime in the future we will be able to rebuild what is lost and hurt.

When Hope is Needed Most

Hope is needed most when we feel the most hopeless. I got a letter today from an old college friend that I hadn’t heard from in more than 2 years. She had just gone through a bad divorce (is there really any other kind?) and with the stress and pain of it all she had actually gone into a comatose state for 3 days last summer. I can only imagine that kind of pain. I have suffered loss, but not the pain of someone I thought was completely devoted to me choosing to leave. What makes the difference between being able to cope or not? I believe it is hope. Believing in or having a hope in the future being better and that one day merely surviving will turn into thriving is the catalyst to overcoming our toughest trials. Have hope in the future, believe with all your heart in our own abilities to overcome and take their first steps toward making whatever changes in your thinking is necessary.

Hope ~ For Hope In Return

We often reach out to others to help. We offer to be there to assist people that we feel can use some help. Sometimes this is to a total stranger sometimes it is to close friends or family. We open ourselves up and give without any expectation except that we hope. We hope that if someday we need something they or someone else will be there. We hope that if someday we need a big hug someone will give us one. We hope that our willingness to be there for another person to care and put their needs on our list will enable us to matter to them. In essence we give hope in exchange for hope. Hope propells us to take risks, to put others first to care when otherwise we may not have. In the ends sometimes our hopes with those we give to so willingly are not fulfilled. My suggestion, hope that instead of passing that hope back to us they passed it on to someone else and keep hoping. Hope is like a big hug, it lifts the spirits of those that give and receive.

The Need for Hope

“All I need is the air that I breathe and to love you…” I have always loved this song by The Hollies. It implies that the most vital needs are both the physical need for air and the emotional need for love. I might add that we also need hope. Hope helps us get up on the morning after a long, dark night. Hope allows us to see a future that is better than our present. Hope keeps us motivated to see past the obstacles and work through the challenge. Hope recognizes that everyone can change for the better.

Some things to remember when you feel hopeless:

• The only person you need to compare to is your past self.

• Effort counts for a lot more than you may realize in most situations.

• The world will never run out of hope; we can always find more if just one person believes something is possible.

Basic human needs for air, love and hope are what make life not only possible, but worth living.

Hope Provides Us Purpose

I remember hearing Wayne Dyer speak about not letting yourself die with the music still in you.  I remember when I heard it a conversation I had with my grandmother years earlier about our calling, our natural passion for something.  She had always felt her passion was to go abroad and help others.  To be a type of Mother Teresa.  Instead, she had done the normal thing, get married and have kids.  She did pursue her mission to help others by becoming a minister.  However, in the end she felt she had missed her purpose.  I remember her telling me to never think it was too late.  If there is something in you that you know you were meant to do go out and do it.  Life is funny, it doesn't have a rule book or a step by step guide for assembly.  However, there is one main secret I have seen through the years.  That is the pursuit of ones passion or purpose.  For Randy Pausch it was to share his life with as many people as he could while he still could.  For Lance Armstrong it was to win the Tour De France.  For Mother Teresa it was to help those in needs.  While living a life of purpose we find the work we are doing to be are passion and it seems less like work and becomes more fulfilling.  I have always felt blessed.  Behind every obstacle there is a lesson, an opportunity or something that upon reflection benefits my life.  My gift is to find the solution, the opportunity that lies within the mess.  For me blogging, find inspiration on a daily basis is something I could do forever.  In order to do this we have to have at the core of all of it Hope.  Hope that our purpose or our passion will have value.  Just as the void between the notes makes the melody, hope within our purpose connections us to why we are here and allows us to fulfill our place.  To find our music and not take it with us when our time is done.  Hope is at the core of everything.  If is the heartbeat of our lives.

What is my purpose?

Why am I here? What is it I am supposed to do? What is my purpose? These are questions most of us have asked at one time or another in our lives. Alfred North Whitehead said, “Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of finitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of life is to grasp as much as we can out of that infinitude.”

We may not fully understand our potential because the mind can only think in finite terms of a beginning and an end. Because of this we may be putting limits on our purpose. A purpose in life may have finite moments. We may be called upon to fulfill a need at a particular moment and once that is done, our purpose in that role is too. Maybe we are meant to move from one purposeful act to another, one after another until that moment of infinitude.

There has been research over the years that indicates that older people who still feel useful and needed live longer and happier lives. In a 2009 interview with Barbara Resnick, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP, professor in the Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing in Baltimore, she states, “I think we often push older adults to do mindless activities when we should be encouraging activities that help them live in communities. People want to feel needed, so the idea is to give people jobs and responsibilities that they can feel good about when they complete them successfully. You might give a patient the job of clearing the table in his or her assisted-living facility. Or you might encourage a patient to deliver the mail or take the dog for a walk, whatever it is that can make that person feel needed — and that they're completing meaningful activities.” We all have seen both sides of it. There are those who retire from their job and no longer know what they are supposed to do and basically sit back waiting to die. There are others like my grandma Francy who at age 93 still volunteers, participates in clubs, finds ways to cheer others up with cards and phone calls.

We can find purpose in our lives on large and small scales every day. It does not matter how old we are, where we live, if we are married or single, have children at home or live alone. What is your purpose for today?

Hope In Every Situation

Hope is the ray of sunshine around a cloud promising to peak through so your BBQ goes according to plan. Hope is planning the perfect prom day and waiting for it to go according to plan. Hope is forgiveness when you have said words that hurt. Hope if the offer for a new job that you aren't sure about. Hope is the baby that is on its way of and the dreams for their future.

Hope is the morning when you have lost a loved one. Hope the big win that gets you noticed. Hope is front of stage for your favorite band. Hope is that time heals all wounds. Hope is the championship for your home team. Hope is the all is clear test when the treatments are through. Hope is the that she will say I do. Hope is their happiness when your child moves out. Hope is the memories when your parents are gone. Hope is the stillness before the dawn. Hope is the food on the table to eat. Hope is a night without bombs. Hope is a home with heat. Hope is the dream you finaly pursue. Hope is that life always has you. Hope is the storm doesn't ruin the crops. Hope is the flame the ignites the fire. Hope can move mountains and make mircles happen. What are your HOPES??

Finding Hope

There may be situations where we tell ourselves it is "hopeless" or we have no hope that it can be better. With hope being as necessary to our lives and well being as air, we must find the hope or we couldn't go on very long. So take a deep breath and realize there is always hope.

Hope has the power to create a change when all seems all. There is no better example than the Red Sox and their 2004 which that had not been able to do since “the curse” was placed on them. They had not won a World Series since 1918. The Red Sox were down in the 2004 series 3 games to 0. They came back to win 4 games straight and their first World Series win since 1918. What changed? There were no major changes in the line up. The coaches were the same and despite a tough Boston fan based they started winning when many thought there was no hope. Somewhere in the course of or prior to game 4 there was a shift. Could it be that an entire team of grown men collectively decided they would not give up? Could their mindset really affect their performance? I believe so. The power of the mind and the willingness to have hope against all odds really can change bring a change in the air.

If the Red Sox can do it, then why couldn’t each individual make such a shift in their own outcomes? So take a deep breath and realize there is always hope.

We are dedicating May to Hope.

Hope:  [hohp] the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for; to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence; to believe, desire,

Pur·pose: [pur-puh s] the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc. ; an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal; determination; resoluteness.
Each of us has a purpose a reason for being. For some of us we know that reason early on for others of us it is a gradual discovery. Regardless of when this realization happens in order for us to fulfill our purpose we begin with hope. That feeling that we can and will fulfill that purpose.
Hope is to Purpose
As Air is to Life
Air allows us to breathe, to live to experience life. Hope allows us to know, to believe that what we are meant to do we can do. Hope gives us the strength to fulfill our purpose, to pursue our dreams.

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