With hope

Can you hope without grasping? Can you know what you want without needing to have it? Can you let your hopes lift you up rather than tie you down? Can you see that hope should be a positive? Whether your hope arrives or not, the lift that comes with it is leading you to a better place.Hope may be the most important thing we have as humans. It allows us to persevere, to dream, to create, to do all manner of things that require us to struggle and survive. But there’s a downside to hope. There’s the comparison of what we hope for with what we have. Hope keeps us going but, if we are not careful, it can be the flip side of disappointment and of comparing everything to the ideal.Hope should make us more content, not less. It should allow us to accept what is while we pursue what could be. It should be a force for moving toward rather than moving away. For me, it should be but sometimes it is not. Sometimes it is pulling me down a rabbit hole and distracting me from this day with dreams of some day. And then the energy of hope is holding me down rather than lifting me up.As you read this I wonder:* What is the one thing you most hope for today?* Can you accept a future in which that hope is never realized?* Can you imagine it might be better than you even hoped?We should not underestimate the power of hope but we also should not give it power over us and our path. As you start the week, can you use hope to move you toward tomorrow and to recognize the wonder of today? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aconstantbecoming.substack.com