Hope gets a great deal of good publicity. At face value, to hope indicates an intrepid spirit who is relentless in their pursuit of happiness. We are taught that it’s the one thing we will always have and to never give it up. It even floats.
It may come with a much shinier facade, but hope is actually just another form of resistance.
When you hope for something to be different than it is you are arguing with what is.
When you hope you are saying “no” to your life in some way.
The struggle between what is and what you hope for is the essence of stress. It will always bring you down.
To have hope makes it sound like you’ve gone and chosen a positive mindset, but it is actually desire drenched in expectation. “This should not be happening so something else better come along to make it far more acceptable.”
Hope is an attachment. “I need this to happen. If it doesn’t happen, that means my life is officially headed toward a downward spiral.”
Hope is like a prayer with a underlying conditional offer. “I hope this happens. (Because I’ll only be happy if it does.”
We humans love hoping for something better, in fact, we appear to be addicted to hope. Count how many times you refer to hope in a day. Then count how many times someone else does. The trick will be to not lose track.
We are constantly wanting our present to be different than it is and it’s doing nothing but adding to our suffering. The essence of stress is arguing with what is.
Hoping is a euphemism for worrying. It sounds better and it gets much better press. Hope is the socially accepted way to fret.
If you are into living with more ease, consider giving up all hope. End all hope. Give up hope for Lent. Let go of hope and choose to be completely at one with yourself, other people, and your circumstances. Love what is and see where that takes you.
Give up all hope and replace it with belief.
Believe that the universe knows exactly what it’s doing and that it doesn’t make mistakes. Trust that no matter what happens, you are being lovingly guided along a path that has your very best interests in mind.
Have faith that life is always bettering itself.
Toss hope aside and believe that there is always perfection unfolding.
The opposite of hope is surrender. Letting go and trusting the path.
Try being hopeless. Let the yearning, grasping, and reaching fall away.
Breathe deeply. Live in the mystery.
Dreaming is wonderful. Send out your big, beautiful intentions to the universe and then allow life to unfold. Rather than hope for this one, very particular outcome, stay completely open to when and how your thoughts will take shape.
Giving up hope is not giving up. Giving up hope is giving up the need to control. Giving up hope is an act of surrender that comes from an unwavering trust that all is coming – and a commitment to keep your mind and heart open to all the infinite possibilities of what “all” contains.
And then just think how much fun it will be to tell people that you are completely hopeless while wearing a big ol’ grin on your face.