I woke up thinking about hope. I thought about areas of my life I am feeling hopeful. I was inspired by Brené Brown’s book, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are. In one of the chapters, Cultivating a Resilient Spirit, she writes about hopeful self-talk and the importance of remembering that even when things are difficult, it is important to remind ourselves that we can keep going. Brown writes, “We develop a hopeful mind-set when we understand that some worthy endeavors will be difficult and time consuming and not enjoyable at all. If we want to cultivate hopefulness, we have to be willing to be flexible and demonstrate perseverance.”
I looked up some of my favorite quotes on hope as a reminder of what is possible.
“Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops… at all.” ~Emily Dickinson
“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.” ~Anne Lamott
“Without hope the us’s give up. I know that you can’t live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you, and you, and you, and you have got to give them hope.” ~Harvey Milk
I am still learning and cultivating hope with each new personal and professional endeavor. What are your thoughts about hope?
{Photo taken by Mary Anne Flanagan}