“To be hopeful, do hopeful things.” I read this opening line in an article recently, and it caused me to stop and think. In a world which seems to be so beaten up with tragedy, so many lives spinning out of control, many places and people are way low on hope. From a certain perspective, this should not come as a real surprise. Only so much negativity can be withstood before hope wanes and is eventually lost. However, as the article which I read emphasized, it is in these moments of isolation and desperation, when the feeling of hopelessness is the greatest that the perfect antidote to regaining hope is by doing hopeful things.
Doing hopeful things can come in a vast array of actions and words. Just look around. Daily we run across people needing a simple helping hand. We can open a door or carry groceries to a car. We can say “Good Morning” to a passing stranger. We can send a quick note telling someone how special they are. One of the best things we can do is just be a friend and listen. The one thing not needed to do hopeful things is money. All that is required is the willingness to invest some time and get involved.
When we do hopeful things, we begin to build and restore hope in the lives of people and places. This creates a ripple effective of hope which begins to restore a positive impact on everyone. I told my boys every day when they were growing up and living at home, and I still remind them of this regularly when I talk or see them, “Make the world just a little bit better today with everyone you meet.” How important it is that we daily look for ways to build hope, and it is in these efforts of building hope in others that a positive counter effect occurs as well.
As we extend doing hopeful things to restore hope in others, we also become invigorated with a newer, deeper, more profound sense of hope with ourselves. Talk about making a world of difference. We all have specific duties and responsibilities we carry out each day, and each of these are important. “To be hopeful, do hopeful things.” It is really pretty easy and it makes all the difference in the lives of others as well as in ours!
Doing hopeful things can come in a vast array of actions and words. Just look around. Daily we run across people needing a simple helping hand. We can open a door or carry groceries to a car. We can say “Good Morning” to a passing stranger. We can send a quick note telling someone how special they are. One of the best things we can do is just be a friend and listen. The one thing not needed to do hopeful things is money. All that is required is the willingness to invest some time and get involved.
When we do hopeful things, we begin to build and restore hope in the lives of people and places. This creates a ripple effective of hope which begins to restore a positive impact on everyone. I told my boys every day when they were growing up and living at home, and I still remind them of this regularly when I talk or see them, “Make the world just a little bit better today with everyone you meet.” How important it is that we daily look for ways to build hope, and it is in these efforts of building hope in others that a positive counter effect occurs as well.
As we extend doing hopeful things to restore hope in others, we also become invigorated with a newer, deeper, more profound sense of hope with ourselves. Talk about making a world of difference. We all have specific duties and responsibilities we carry out each day, and each of these are important. “To be hopeful, do hopeful things.” It is really pretty easy and it makes all the difference in the lives of others as well as in ours!
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