Hope Is The Anchor Of Life

Happy New Year 2020, dear readers!

With a fresh year, comes a lot of expectations, goals and hopes.

As much as we would want our lives to be smooth sailing, with almost no glitches and unhappiness, the reality is that we have to face it all. Fears, apprehensions, self-doubt, loathe and worthlessness. It isn’t something which is unique to a person.

We all are fighting our own battles, big or small. While we try our best to work hard and face the challenges with all the strength we can collect, there comes a time when we feel that we cannot continue with it. The feeling of dread and hopelessness stealthily creeps in.

There is this beautiful saying:

“There is light at the end of the tunnel.”

The tunnel here is the journey of life. And the light? Hope. Hope is what keeps us going. It is that which gives us a chance to make our days better and brighter. Easier said than done. But at times of extreme lows, faith and hope in yourself make it all easier.

That being said, we cannot be over-optimistic and ignore the truth that lays before our eyes. We have to accept circumstances as they are, be well aware of what’s happening. Acknowledge your emotions, put them down on paper, if that helps. Acceptance is key. But hope is the anchor.

At the same time, we must not falter and fall down defeated. When we put in a conscious effort to fight our problems, stay mentally strong and move forward, there are high possibilities of turning our hopes into reality.

We all have ambitions and dreams as big as castles. In the mad rush to achieve these, we fail to see and celebrate our small wins. No matter how minuscule they are, pat yourself on your back and move ahead. Such seemingly insignificant accomplishments boost your morale and give you all the hope that you need to be a warrior in this battlefield called life.

I am reading this absolutely delightful book called “Self Care For The Real World” by Nadia Narain and Katia Narain Phillips. There is a section dedicated solely to hope. A series of questions are thrown at the reader to ponder and reflect over. This one question caught my eye.

“What does hope feel like to you?”

Looks simple, but you will need to wrack your brains to arrive at an answer.

As far as my answer is concerned, here it goes:
To me, hope feels like the first rays of the sun.
We go to bed each night with a zillion plans for the next day and for the days to come. That’s hope. We sow seeds, water them each day with utmost love and care, waiting with bated breath to see the first blade of green to sprout. That’s hope. We anticipate to see the people we love the most, spend quality time with them, over smiles and laughter. That’s hope. We feel terrible after a hard day, probably be harsh on ourself for all that did not go as per our expectations. Yet, we sleep over it, looking forward to being kinder on ourselves the next day. That’s hope.

I would love it if you would think over this question. Feel free to let me know in the comments what you think of it!

Until next time, stay blessed (and hopeful)! 🙂

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