by Sister Jacqueline Russell of Brahma Kumaris Centre for Spiritual Learning
Hope comes from working towards something that gives me a sense of achievement.
It is more than a belief. It gives me evidence that I am capable of overcoming the fear that sometimes emerges when I am facing one challenge after another.
To have this kind of resilience, the spiritual message is that I need to care for my inner being.
Whatever the challenge is, be it sickness of the body, or of someone near to me who needs extra care, or a sudden situation emerging while I am still engaged in my normal activities, there is a need to do something so that I do not get overwhelmed.
To be able to discern the real options that are available to me requires me to take time out, quieten my mind, and allow me to stand back from the situation.
This allows me with quiet reflection, to emerge inner wisdom.
For this I need to have a practice that brings me to a silent and peaceful state of mind.
Thoughts are the basis of this kind of self-care.
It is essential to pay attention to the kinds of thoughts I am creating.
Thoughts are my own creation – very personal and unique to me, and within my own spiritual power.
I may ask myself, “am I keeping my inner being strong and healthy by feeding it supportive thoughts”.
For this, it is helpful to have an attitude of self-respect towards myself as a being of goodness and positivity.
Check: Is my dialogue with myself coming from an attitude of faith in myself. For when I speak well to myself I am able to draw on the innate wisdom that all of us have.
It is very important, when speaking with myself, to maintain a gentle conversation, encouraging and reinforcing my own achievements.
When I have seen a good outcome from what I have done, it builds my hope for the future.
Thinking is an action. It is active and purposeful.
As I become more aware of my mind and its thinking power and how what I think influences my words, my actions and even the health of my body, I strengthen my hope in myself, especially when dealing with situations I have never had to deal with before.
There are many writers nowadays who emphasise the effect of our thoughts on our happiness.
Not just our thoughts, even our attitude towards life has an effect on our health…
There are stories of people who have survived very difficult situations, even being held captive, who maintained a feeling of fortitude and wellbeing in the presence of such uncertainty.
They were able to maintain a feeling of hope that they could manage to keep themselves together.
We learn from these stories what human beings are capable of achieving.
That they survived the situation and were able to share their wisdom with us is evidence of their experience.
So to take care of the inner being, is to pay attention to our thoughts and so our attitudes.
o keep our hope alive is to do something towards strengthening our resolve.
Together, the effect is to lead a purposeful life full of hope.
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