Gives Me Hope

The famous lines by Emily Dickingson:
"Hope is a thing with feathers that perches in the soul..."

Beautiful and poetic lines indeed, but I have definitely a more realistic approach to the 'idea' of hope.

It seems to me that the word hope is about imagining and reaching for something that is not (yet) within our grasp. We want something a situation or a person, to be different to the way they are. We want them to be better, more acceptable...

Hope is an emotional concept, but also a way of thinking. The idea comes from our intellect, our brain.

I need to align myself with the moment, just the way it is - and to go with the flow with how things are, how they develop, sometimes change and sometimes don't.

So the tiny feather floating on the surface of the moving water reminds me that just being present in this instant, as it presents itself, is the most comfortable way to go - without wanting to control or manipulate something over which may, or may not, happen in the future.  

"We use hope to believe something better will happen in the future, that we will arrive at peace, or the Kingdom of God. Hope becomes a kind of obstacle. If you can refrain from hoping, you can bring yourself entirely into the present moment and discover the joy that is already here."
Thich Nhat Hahn,
Buddhist Monk and spiritual teacher.

The August Break
Day 29: Gives Me Hope