“Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.” J.R.R. Tolkien
“She wondered that hope was so much harder then despair.” Patricia Briggs
“Losing your life is not the worst thing that can happen. The worst thing is to lose your reason for living.” Jo Nesbo
“The difference between hope and despair is a different way of telling stories from the same facts.” Alain de Botton
How many of us are fearful at every turn. I would guess that most of us worry constantly. We fear so many things that we don’t even count or connect them anymore. Our anxiety level increases along with the stress. What we don’t see is the numerous diseases we encounter because of the pressure of our burdens. We may be able to walk through fire to help someone, especially our families, but facing the issues of daily life may bring us to our knees. I heard someone say that there would always be prayer in schools because there would always be tests.
Facing problems head-on
The wonder of why we succumb to life’s strain is not especially hard to understand. Facing problems head-on is not the preference for most of us. We perhaps prefer to think about it when we are forced. Perhaps that is for the best in certain respects. Life does appear to wear us all down to the point of making us feel defeated.
Maybe we ought to reflect on what life means, and what goals we have set. Perhaps we doom ourselves by trying to gain the same items as everyone else or have a certain amount of money. Most of us take pride in the achievements of our kids. The honor falls on us so we think. Taking a deeper look at what we believe, and search for, may produce surprising answers.
Take a more profound look into ourselves
What we want for our kids may not be what they ever wanted. What our kids do or don’t achieve has nothing to do with our own happiness or disappointment. Our dreams may not be their dreams. Having reached the pinnacle of life may not look the same for each individual. I realize there are certain things that define all humans and their needs and wants, but perhaps taking a more profound look into ourselves, may solve some of our issues.
The pressure is on kids to achieve at school, be a hero at sports, and work for a scholarship for college. At the very least we hope they will gain entrance into colleges. Those of us without a lot of money hope to see our kids in a better position than we ever found ourselves. We may feel cheated or denied access to the good things in life. It can easily leave one bitter. That is not difficult to understand. But disappointment occurs in every level of society. There is no magic cure for heartache. Being human almost implies there will be plenty of demanding things to endure and master along with the good.
We are never really in control
As a human, it is important for us to be in control. I believe now that once we give up that notion, life appears easier to accept. The ugly truth is that. The happenings of life are slow and quick, happy, and sad. Some things we can prepare for while others are shocks to the system. There are slow daily grinds, and fast horrendous unexpected obstacles to deal with. Most likely none of us would change places with others.
It may not be exactly the same, but fear creeps into our lives and can become an unwanted guest. Teens build up so much stress that many teens at such a young age, figure life is too hard to continue. Again the pressure to win it all is tremendous. Where is the reflection of life itself? Perhaps we don’t appreciate things as much as we should, myself included. We should not have to value something after it is gone.
Appreciate the moment
I recently lost my dog and the lack of her presence is so challenging to endure. I am not attempting to compare an animal’s loss to the loss of people, but it dawned on me how many more times I might have petted her or played in the yard with her. It has led me to comprehend life as fluid motion. It moves swiftly onward so whatever we value ought to be appreciated at the moment, especially while we can still enjoy it.
Fear is insidious. Teens worry about tests, dating, and being accepted. Adults worry about money, their kids, homes, spouses, and careers. Then life happens and throws in all kinds of roadblocks. We all have so many issues, it is impossible to mention all of them. We come to a false belief in the notion that our best is never good enough. That adds to our anxiety and sends us running in circles while searching for meaning in life. So many of us just keep moving and thinking the motion somehow will fix our worry. Facing problematic concerns is too difficult.
Accepting isn’t easy
Now I see it as running away. I am escaping my problems by waiting for the answer to fall from the sky. I don’t face some of my worries or burdens. I simply ignore them and keep moving. One day I thought about the fact that I spend way too much time on those negative fears and concerns. Many or most of them can’t be altered, but I know I can face them if I muster my courage. Perhaps my fears can’t be crushed, but likely they can be approached, modified, and understood. Accepting isn’t easy but honestly managing the fear renders it neutral. I can handle it in a variety of ways and see it for what it is.
As life moves forward we have children and then encounter problems that were unforeseen. We can lay on the battlefield defeated and discouraged, surrendering to life in defeat. Or we can face it and fight it by tackling it head-on, allowing our mind heart and spirit to work together to find better answers than giving up. Perhaps we may not find the solutions we were seeking, but we might find a remedy we can work with. Enlightenment grants us the courage to travel in a new direction.
Our cries are for ourselves
We all hurt inside when our objectives and desires are left by the wayside. We cry for our kids and others we love when there are mistakes, pains, or heartaches. What is not clear to see or understand, is that many times our cries are for ourselves and the things or ideas we longed to see happen. It is our loss that hurts. We wanted or expected certain things to happen and when they don’t go according to our plan, we are devastated. I am totally included in this group’s interpretation.
I honestly wonder if it is spiritual growth that we all need despite our efforts to avoid it or encounter it. Maybe our trials and tribulations bring about a deliverance from jealousy, envy, pride, anger, control, and more. We may get knocked down but perhaps we are a better person when we get back up. It forces us to view life in a different way despite our best efforts to avoid that.
Don’t take so much for granted
We may be forced with challenging changes that bring anxiety into our lives. But any time we have faced tremendous difficulties, we are confronted with finding our own strength to deal with the changes. Perhaps we come to acknowledge our need to appreciate those people and things we cherish. I like everyone else. We lose our patience, get angry, feel envious, jealousy, and intolerant more times than we would like to admit.
I just wonder if the obstacles remind us to slow down, smell the flowers or coffee, and reflect on finding peace and serenity. If nothing else, life teaches us to have more patience, love, empathy, and compassion. It leads us towards understanding and learning to appreciate the small stuff. It awakens us to the little things in life that we should cherish and remember. Perhaps we are being nudged towards the good and spiritual side of ourselves. This in no way means God brings us sorrow in order to teach us something. On the contrary. I believe we are brought to the attention of what life is all about.
Faith and hope drive away fear and stress
We all die at some point. We have bodies and souls. Most likely we should be focusing more on our inner growth than our outer enrichment. In many ways, faith and hope are our miracle cures. If we just slow down and look for the real meaning in our lives, we may not be so quick to toss those simple actions of a gift of dandelions from a child. The child at such a young age knows about beauty and love. As we get older we drive those messages further from our minds and hearts and embrace the frivolity of worldly desires.
By renewing our faith in a higher being, perhaps we can relieve the panicky feelings of fear, dread, jealousy, losing control, loneliness, anger, and heartache of all kinds. Mankind is really facing similar issues. We just run away from them until they catch us. Focusing on hope and love drives away the clouds of fear and doubt. The challenge is to keep hope strong and alive. Succumbing to our fears, leaves us defeated already from things that may never befall us. It also creates a losing feeling before we have begun to do battle. Faith gives us the courage to accept the hope and love available.
Life is all about the ride we take
Life has never been about finishing. Life is more of a circle. Life is all about the ride we take. There are problems that confront all of us. Fearing the future is destroying our present with thoughts that never come to pass. Enduring our daily issues with faith and hope brings courage to ride into the future with love because life is the ride. Enjoy your life by seeing it with new eyes of peace and serenity. Whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually threatened, always choose to battle with hope as your partner.
“Life is filled with unanswered questions, but it is the courage to seek those answers that continues to give meaning to life. You can spend your life wallowing in despair, wondering why you were the one who was led towards the road strewn with pain, or you can be grateful that you are strong enough to survive it.” J.D. Stroube
“I have had to experience so much stupidity, so many vices, so much error, so much nausea, disillusionment and sorrow, just in order to become a child again and begin anew. I had to experience despair, I had to sink to the greatest mental depths, to thoughts of suicide, in order to experience grace.” Herman Hesse
“Whatever happens in your life, no matter how troubling things might seem, do not enter the neighborhood of despair. Even when all doors remain closed, God will open up a new path only for you. Be thankful! It is easy to be thankful when all is well. A Sufi is thankful not only for what he has been given but also for all that has been denied.” Elif Shafak
