Ah yes, hope. I hope this message finds you well. Oh, I hope I did well enough to pass the test this time. In my wildest dreams, I hope I get to go to Santorini, Greece one day. I hope everything goes okay during the surgery. I hope someday things won’t feel as awful as they do right now. Does any of this sound familiar? I’m playing in a puddle of hope today, to see what I can learn about this feeling.

The context of hope sometimes has more to do with yearning or anticipation. The hope I’m exploring today is the resolute feeling in my heart that feels peaceful or trusting in a desired outcome. It is anticipation free from anxiety or doubt. Of course, there is an element of yearning in any form of hope, but I like to think of it from a glass-half-full perspective.

It’s a subtle difference to hope for something from a place of trust or to desire an outcome from a place of desperation. I think we all experience both types of hope in our lives. Hope is hope. One is not necessarily better than the other. There is anticipation in either form of hope. If hope comes from a trusting place, though, it feels different to me.

While being kidnapped, I held onto the hope of survival. I didn’t know from one moment to the next if I would live or die. There was no trust in this scenario, only desperate hope. Deeper into my recovery from that experience, I learned to trust the healing process through trial and error. My hope to live each day without fear and anxiety came more from a place of trust. I knew things would get better; I had faith in that. Can you see the subtle difference between the two? Both hopes were integral to my recovery and my survival. One was not better than the other. The energy of hope, in this example, shifted.

I enjoy feeling hopeful and find it helpful in creating the fabric of the life I want for myself. This is an interesting emotion. Hope is a wonderful thing to have regardless of where it’s coming from. It is a positive energy that fuels our dreams and desires. I hope you enjoyed splashing around in this puddle with me.

The world of emotions is vast and interesting…

If you would like to explore more feelings in the Stayin’ in Touch – Positive Emotions book, click here for more information.

Image by myeongae lim from Pixabay