A World Full of Hope

Image by Evelyn Arthur Richman

In Part 1 of this series, I wrote about seeing the world for what it truly is, which is full of magic and wonder. In this part, I’d like to move on to the topic of hope. I believe that there is far too little hope remaining in the world and for the world. Our culture, particularly in the West, has become one of constant crisis and criticism. The media reminds me of Chicken Little, always claiming that “they sky is falling.” Less informed people follow this lead and the cycle perpetuates itself into a frenzy of chaos and fearmongering.

What I believe is necessary, now more than ever, is for those of us that refuse to fall prey to this trap to bring an era of hope to the world. When we were children, we had hopes and dreams to achieve amazing things. We were so full of hope that our imagination was the only barrier to what we would be able to accomplish. Look into a child’s eyes and you can see this hope as a glimmer of innocence. Lucky for them, they don’t know what they don’t know and as long as the innocence remains they continue to have stars in their eyes.

As we grow older, we begin to lose this hope. I often find myself getting down and depressed when confronted with this barrage of negative information. It is very difficult to keep hope alive at times, but I believe it is essential that we do so.

If we truly want to live a spiritually enlightened path, then we must find a way to not only adopt a life of hope for ourselves, but also act as a beacon of hope for others.

Here are some suggestions:

1. When you see someone acting like chicken little, offer them an alternative viewpoint of hope. Slow them down and let them know that they have the ability to be positive about any situation.
2. Practice spreading hope through your actions. Work hard to be positive throughout the day and when you find yourself being down or negative, find something to be thankful for to lift your spirits.
3. Spread hope wherever you go by being aware of the good things happening in the world and making sure others know about them.
4. Become an ambassador of hope by focusing your mediation on sending positive energy into the world and absorbing the negative energy around you. When you are in public, try and radiate positive energy to impact those around you. People love to be around positive energy and as you perfect this practice you will most likely find people flocking to you in order to feed off of your energy.

The world is craving direction and needs leaders that can offer a future of hope. Individually, we might not be enough, but together we certainly can make a difference. Eventually, a leader will step up and I hope it is someone like yourself that is consciously living your dharma.

Padma