'My friends, do not lose heart. We were made for these times'

Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Note to a young activist

Lean into hope

This week, I’ve found that the theme of 'hope' has kept arising, be it in what I'm reading, to conversations with friends or through watching the news. There’s no doubt that the times we are living in are tough and hope feels in short supply. We’re witnessing the third anniversary of the war in Ukraine, Trump's barrage of new orders coming from the White House, the struggles of the public sector here in the UK and foreign aid from US and now Britain slashed. The world can feel like a frightening place for many.

I find at these times my mindfulness practice enables me to ‘tune in’ to what’s going on rather than ‘tune out’. In my coaching work I very often find myself encouraging leaders to stay with things as they are rather than rush to action, impatient to make things better. Working together we are learning that it is by accepting things as are they and by exploring an issue to deeply understand it, that we can find a more authentic and sustainable path forward. We can find our way back to hope.

Awakening to the power of hope that lives within us sounds easier said than done. Practice can help.
Why not try one of these when hope feels in short supply?

With thanks to Psych Central and their work on hope from whom I have adapted these practices.

Accept your feelings of hopelessness
Allow yourself to be with what you're feeling. Pause and name it. See if you can explore where the feeling is making itself known in the body. Pause and breathe gently and naturally, observing the feeling. You may find it starts to release its hold on you. You may want to ask 'what is this feeling wanting to teach me about this moment?'

Practice self-compassion
Self-compassion is a light, a salve during difficult times. Recognizing that you’re not always going to be able to solve everything can free us from feelings of guilt or ruminating on it. Reminding ourselves that we’re doing the best we can at any given moment can help us to stay with hope and our own innate goodness even if times are hard. I find phrases such as 'may I meet this moment too with kindness for myself and others' can be helpful in activating self compassion

Move through the ‘mud’
One of the Buddha’s phrases I often remind myself of is 'no mud - no lotus'. The lotus cannot grow without the mud. Challenge is part of life but if we can move through it something better can emerge. Sometimes it’s as simple as accepting that it’s muddy right now. When I work with leadership teams I encourage them to sit with the mud and reflect on the phrase ‘right now it's like this’ - and to articulate the ‘this’ as much as they can. It can feel liberating and create a space for something less muddy to arise. You might like to try this next time things feel ‘sticky and murky’.

Lean toward the light
We can use the light of our own core purpose to activate hope on a daily
basis. As you move through your day keep asking the question ‘what really matters to me in this next moment?’. The response might be ‘to be more patient, or curious, or present, or joyful’ and then proceed with the intention to model what matters. Even when our days feel overly effortful and task driven this practice of letting in the light of core purpose can help us feel more hopeful about what we can offer to create a better world in our own small way, moment by moment.