Hope's Reflections

@Hope

Hi Hope! 😊❤️ You rock! It was beautiful to see what you just did, a "call back" to self care comments.

*high fives* 😊 *hugs* ❤️ Happy Fri-yay everyone!

@Hope

Hi Hope! 😊❤️ Thank you for the quote. Kind of wondering if this means something about fear? Maybe that the fear/worry of the unknown and how to handle a problem is sometimes worse than actually truly handling it? If it is, something that I try to say is "Is the monster in your living room right now? No. Is the monster right outside of your doorstep right now? No. Okay then, breath deeply and it can be handled".

Something I also cling to is that nothing is quite so taxing as the task left undone. I guess things can have a way of growing and looming over us as time goes on. Face the problem, adversity, head on and then on to the next. Sometimes it can end feeling like, "well, maybe that wasn't so bad after all". 😊

Something I had read once from Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize was something along the lines of... Is there a solution to the problem? Then no worries. Is their no solution to the problem? Also, no worries. I won't be able to give the direct quote but that was the gist of what I remembered.

Seems to me they were saying, if you can take care of it, do it, solve it, it's a call to action. If there is nothing you can do about it, then don't waste your time worrying over things that are out of your control.

Happy Tuesday everyone! 😊❤️

*high fives* 😊 and *hugs*❤️

@Hope Great quote.

I have been great.

@Hope I totally agree to this. If they can, so can you!!

@Hope

Hi Hope! 😊❤️ Happy Wednesday! Thank you for this new addition to "Hopes Reflections". I'm glad you got to enjoy the rain as well as that cup of tea! ❤️

"How often do we take our world for granted"? I would have to say, for many of us, quite a bit. I think the rushing can play a big role in it. Do this, do that and on to the next greatest thing. Never stopping to simply be in the moment, to feel it all, to embrace it. It feels good to practice mindfulness, to really show up, to really plug into it all.

I wonder if the feeling of being rushed has more to do about us than external factors some days. One day I asked myself "self, who is this big scary boss you are working for"? By asking myself that question, I found out it was me! No matter who we are or what we do, indeed, we all answer to someone or something, employer, some entity. My outlook is my own and I can stop to take a breath, slow it down, and do my "all flow, no frazzle". Slowing down and being in the moment can help us enjoy what we are doing and feel grateful for those moments.

I'm a big believer in celebrating the victories. You have to slow down and take that great moment to do so. If you are so inclined to go on to the next greatest thing, *high fives* 😊. But that moment should be taken and to feel the gratitude. Bask in the glow, let it feel good and feel good about yourself and then pick it back up all over again tomorrow if you'd like to compete against yourself and your last greatest victory!

For me, I practice gratitude moments and daily. Yes, I too stop to appreciate that blade of grass, cup of tea and truly be present in those *hugs* ❤️ I am grateful for what others may consider the smallest of things. I am grateful for that soft pillow to put my head on at night, I am grateful for that warm blanket to pull around my neck, grateful for that hot shower I may have had that day and grateful for having had something to eat and not going to bed hungry. I know that others in this world might not be as fortunate as me in that moment so I better take the time to appreciate it!

I wonder sometimes if gratitude is a choice, a mindset and not only that, over time, a life style choice that can pervade each and every thing that we do? Smiles, hugs and kindness can be contagious as well as the power of gratitude.

Because of your thoughtful post, I have thought about the ways that I have interjected the concept of gratitude in dialogue here on 7 cups as well as in real life. Even if I think back only to the last 4 days.

Forum post, I recall that....speaking of Pollyana and "that's a good problem to have" and so I am grateful.

Speaking to a teammate on the listener side when they asked about me and my personal past hardships (and me being very forthcoming as well as vulnerable if they really just wanted to know that much) and how does one cope and maintain such a high degree of positivity because of it.

Providing peer support to an amazing teammate yesterday. I spent an inordinate amount of time with them and was happy to. I was grateful that they sought me out specifically because I just may have been one of the very best teammates to support them in this instance, equip them, help to keep them safe on this site and add additional tools to their "listener tool box". What they were going through, just so happened to be a "lived experience'' me on the site.

After I helped them and supported them, I let them know that they are not alone and that it, indeed, had been something I had gone through as well. Oh the ripple effect. I told them I was happy to help them and that by me helping others in this way, what I went through, was not in vain. I was giving dignity and respect to past hardships and those moments. I use it as fuel to help others. They will in turn pay it forward and are equipped now with the tools to help future teammates. So, yes, gratitude moment for things I have gone through.

Lastly, ahhhhhhhhh your blade of grass comment. Well, in real life, I spoke to someone just last night that finally found "their leaf" 😊. I was so happy for them and so I guess the universe works in mysterious ways. ❤️❤️❤️

This is someone that I deeply care about in real life, someone that goes through the hustle and bustle of life, someone that I have spoken to about gratitude moments and slowing down. They are enjoying the process and they feel as if it has been life altering. I encouraged them in their daily travels to look around them, feel the joy, pay attention to everything. Look up and look down. Embrace the moments, enjoy the beauty of everything and consistently seek to see the goodness in others.

The challenge was also to slow down, look on the ground, see the pretty leaves that have fallen. Look at them and look hard and quietly. Helps to clear the mind, look for beauty when traveling from point A to point B. I wanted them to find "their leaf". Be choosy, be picky. Only one leaf will do and once you find it, you'll know it!

Well, yesterday, they found their leaf. It brought tears to my eyes that they did and through the process they really understand the deeper meaning of it all. Their leaf, interestingly enough, shows the letter of what begins with their first name. That leaf was truly meant for them. I'm going to teach them how to preserve it, press it between wax paper with an iron and tuck into a book and they will have it in all perpetuity. It's their leaf and they are grateful for it. They are grateful for that simple leaf and the life lessons they learned in finding it along the way.

I hope everyone can find their leaf.

*high fives* 😊 and big *hugs* ❤️

@Hope Another amazing quote,my friend.

Loved read this on.

It was really powerful.

Thanks for sharing.

Hi I am unable to read this quote properly it higlited in white and the text also seems to be white. May I know the source of this quote? Thank you for sharing this though 💕

@Hope

Hi Hope! 😊❤️ Happy Wednesday! 😊 Oddest thing ever is that I had a thought this morning that is in direct alignment with the quote you shared. I really have no idea why this thought popped into my mind, but it did! The thought was "what is it that we would all choose to do if we had no fear"? I imagine many times, highly capable people hold themselves back.

I'm a thinker as well as feeler. I've never been someone that simply takes the path of least resistance. Some times the best things in life are worth working hard for as well as, doing the right thing is many times harder than taking the easy way out and doing the wrong thing instead. But I'm also an incredibly cautious person in the sense of, I do the whole risk versus benefit analysis when it comes to taking big risks, rolling the dice and seeing how it all plays out.

Reminds me of a song by Dave Mathews Band "Dancing Nancies" (I'll double check to make sure that is the right one, just typing from memory). Some of the lyrics are "what if I had taken a left turn, instead of taking a right"? "What if I had been anyone other than me"? Eventually the song turns into a song of hope and that everything is going to be okay in the end, but it does make me think about if I had "faced the fear" in some past situations and really done some things differently.

Thank you, for once again, providing an incredibly thought provoking addition to your series on your personal reflections.

*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️

@Hope

Hi Hope! 😊❤️ Thank you for giving me something to think about today. I too believe that the universe is rooting for us and can work in mysterious ways. I believe in Karma and that Karma knows everyone's address and I truly mean that in the most positive of ways. Some only mention Karma in negative circumstances.

I'm not sure if I really believe in "luck" though in the typical way. I feel like luck is simply where preparation meets opportunity. So maybe that's where the "go for what you want" concept steps in.

There are some things in life where I think of the Harry Potter "choosing hat". Sometimes you don't get to choose but "the hat chooses you" and if there is a good outcome, maybe that's by doing the right thing, staying quiet, and maybe the universe, God, Karma or the "choosing hat" will figure it all out for you. Maybe the universe had a different idea for you all along and "they" will let you know.

Some days giving up a bit or putting some things down is good for the soul!

*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️

@Hope Thank you for sharing your thoughts and this poem.

One thing, I always remind others is : Please do not give up.

See, people for whatever reasons, when things get hard, they give up, on whatever they want to do.

When things get rough, that is when you reach out to others for help.

Not only that, that is when you know, if you truly have friends.

People who are your friends, stay by your side, no matter what.

So when things get rough for you, Please, Please, Please do not give up, but reach out to others instead.

@Hope

Hi Hope! 😊❤️ Happy Tuesday! Thank you for the quote!

Aha! A Jordan Peterson fan I see! 😊 Nice! I love that guy! There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't at least listen to something that he has to say. Some days more and some days less as in listening to "shorts" but he's in there, somewhere in my daily travels.

*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️

@Hope

Hi Hope! 😊❤️ Many thanks! I have been doing well and I hope you have too! ❤️ I am grateful for many things. I have the attitude of gratitude, lol 😊 and so I practice, what I call as having my "gratitude moment" at the end of each day. (I speak of this often here on 7 cups and I even let others know sometimes when they will be included in that. Sometimes people are included and wouldn't even know that they were impactful for my day). I typically do this before eating dinner.

Many things that I remind myself to be grateful for are my family members, friends, 7 cups, my teammates, grateful for having positive interactions with my teammates, my neighbors, a safe neighborhood, shelter, clean water to drink, food to eat, heat when it's cold and air conditioning when it's hot, that I am able to pay my bills and keep my electricity on, soft pillows to lay my head on at night and a comfy warm blanket to pull up around my neck, snuggle in and get good sleep, clothes to wear, that nothing is currently broken in my house that needs to be fixed if that is the case at the moment, that I'm not currently in ill health and afraid and neither are my family members, that my loved ones are blazing a path and are becoming successful in their own endeavors, that they are happy, that I have choices and freedom, for creature comforts like richly scented soap, a scented candle to light as these things do make me happy but aren't necessities, a hot shower.

I'm grateful for many other things too but the above are things that I remind myself of and often. I understand that others might not have these things and so I sure better be grateful that I do!

I have my gratitude moment before I eat my dinner and with the hot meal sitting right in front of me to again, remind me that others might not have that luxury at the moment. After that, I pray before I eat. I always end prayer time with what I call "my prayer", it's always the same, day after day after day and I say "Lord, please make the bad people good and the good people easy to live with (deal with)".

Thank you for asking me Hope! 😊❤️

*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️

@Hope That I have a place online to help and support others.

@Hope you have no idea how thankful I am every time that I breath through nose with both nostrils open haha. Thank you and hope you find many such blissful moments too.

@Hope

Hi Hope! 😊❤️ Great quote! I agree! I liken it to... nothing is quite as taxing as the task left undone. It seems to me that it just would weigh heavily on ones mind.

Just getting up and beginning, whatever task it might be, is a great step in the right direction. Once one begins, starts to see some headway, some positive results, one can sit back and see what has been done thus far. Perhaps, feel a bit of joy, some mastery in it all, progress. It can help to create the impetus to just take it all the way!

*high fives* 😊 and *hugs* ❤️

@Hope Thanks for the quote.

It was a very nice quote.

It was very meaningful to me.

It touched me and moved me.

Thanks for sharing this.