Cultivating Hope
BY ANNIE MOORE
As I sit here eating my mince pie listening to Chris Rea, driving home for Christmas, I feel compelled to write a blog about ‘HOPE’.
What a strange year it’s been!.. There have been moments of joy and moments of misery... What have we learned from all of this?
Are we now more able to face our fears? Are we more resilient? Are we more accepting?
Our confinement, isolation, social distancing and restrictions have thrown up many questions, that often we cannot answer.
Nevertheless, one essential element I strongly feel we can take out of this is ‘HOPE’...
Having ‘hope’ is a strong tool to use in times of hardship. It helps us to build resilience, giving us the ability to either recover quickly from events that are rapidly changing, challenging, traumatic or in crisis.
Realistically ‘hope’ is just an expectation that something good will happen—and that we have some control over it.
I believe that in order to start cultivating 'hope' we need to be able to identify to ourselves how we are feeling in a particular moment and then how we would rather be feeling, then we can build on the tools that we have in our life to make us feel that way.
These tools could be anything from small routines or rituals that we enjoy doing like, reading a good book, writing a journal, ceating a soft atmosphere with candles, listening to uplifting music, going for a walk, zooming with family, cooking a lovely meal, having a relaxing aromatic bath and much more. Or we could extend and challenge ourselves further by tapping into other wellness tools, such as yoga and meditation. These are both powerful tools which help strengthen our resilience and carry us further along the path towards ‘hope’ and faith.
'Hope' helps us recognise that we are not necessarily wishing for something good to happen or for help to arrive, but actually it gives us self-assurance to trust that support is already present. We are acknowledging that we can sweep away anything that stands between us and acceptance, as well as self-love.
By making a choice to encourage 'hope', we put our self in control of how we react to our circumstances and how we handle what comes next.
But look… I know it’s not easy to maintain a hopeful disposition when we are in a difficult emotional place and going through miserable times.
Yet I know through my own experience of loss and despair, when we build our resilience, we gain more ability to think out of the box, be more accepting of change and more able to develop 'hope'. By doing this we are opening a door to notice things in a new more positive way.
So, whatever you’re struggling with at the moment, here are a few tools to help you.
Acknowledge and feel your feelings.
Talk about them.
Focus on looking past the hardship.
Make your self-care a priority
Practice acceptance.
Stay in touch with nature.
Ask for help.
Build resilience through the practice of yoga and meditation
Be forgiving with yourself and the rest of the world.
Smile to yourself and others every day.
Always remember you can develop and improve your qualities of resilience at any time, regardless of your age, background, or circumstances.
Having the prospect of 'hope' as a precedence will help you face hardship with belief and confidence. You will be more able to cope with our fast changing, challenging times, as you create a positive vision to make it through to the brighter, more hopeful days to come.
Have a lovely Christmas, stay strong and safe in your own home.
With love Annie x
I shall look forward to seeing you in 2021 in my New Free January Yoga Flow Classes.
If you would like more information about the schedule of these classes please visit my website here