Years ago a spiritual teacher of mine talked about a bumper sticker he’d seen and how he though the philosophy was brilliant.
The bumper sticker read: “I feel so much better since I gave up hope.“
How could he think this was brilliant? Wasn’t it actually depressing? What is life without hope? Doesn’t hope keep despair at bay?
I think what he was seeing in that bumper sticker was another side to hope that, if we cling to this aspect of it, we’re depriving ourselves of something very precious.
To find out what, we take a look at the definition of hope:
hope |hōp|
noun
a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen
verb [ no obj. ]
to want something to happen or be the case
What precious thing is hope depriving us of? The gift of the present moment.
If I’m spending my time and energy on expectation, wanting things to be different, or wanting something to happen, I’m not in this moment — connecting, being with, and learning from all that is happening right in front of me. I’m not in touch with myself, not giving and receiving love, not seeing the beauty around me, in short, I’m not available for joy!
Which brings me to my gift to you:
Finding Freedom Through Mindfulness: A Free 28-Day Challenge
Beginning, May 4th get 28 daily tidbits, offerings, humor, inspiration, nudges, and reminders that this moment is precious… and this moment… and this moment… Learn how to spend more of your time right here, right now. And, as always, optional connecting will be available in the Your Spirited Life Discussion Group on Facebook.
I fully ascribe to, “teach what you most need to learn,” so I’m very excited to spend a month together focusing on mindful living. I hope you’ll join me!
Sign up: HERE
All My Best,
Annie
I agree with you Annie. Hope crippled me for years.
Thanks for the reminder.