Hope is the thing with feathers
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
-Emily Dickinson
In this poem, Hope is metaphorically presented in the image of a little bird, characterized as being steady and unwavering. The tenacity of hope never stops singing its tune. Hope, for Dickinson, can weather the storm, see us through in the most difficult of times.
Hope has wings, always ready to lift us with its strength.
It lives inside you, always there; its presence can be heard and felt. Hope gives, never takes from us and the best part of all, it's available to all.
I've come to understand hope as essential to living. For me, connecting with hope is a necessity to my wellbeing; it plays a huge part in how I navigate life's uncertainties and unpredictability.
I'm referring to a certain form of hope and expanding on the dictionary definition offered by Merriam-Webster: To expect with confidence, trust.
A feeling of trust. But also, so much more.
My own thoughts on hope.
It is an inner knowing; not to be confused with optimism as they are not one in the same. Hope, as I see it, runs much deeper than thinking positively.
It's knowing that true hope comes from within and relying on intrinsic wisdom to serve as your guide. Believing and expecting you will find a way through life's challenges is the key to hope.
My hope is not that things will change, but that I will, in time.
To have hope, then, is to place our trust on the possibility of gaining new perspective, recognizing there are real options to choose from and making new choices. In this regard, hope is a choice.
We choose how to respond to whatever life throws our way. The meaning we make from our suffering, whether past or present, is always a choice.
Real hope is looking at the pain and struggles of day-to-day life and accepting the possibility that how we think and feel today may be different tomorrow.
In all our personal life stories, there is a beginning, middle and end. The end, however, is open to interpretation; open-ended, if you will. We can return again and again to adjust our perspective with new learning and understanding. This is a good thing.
Another good thing is knowing that how we start out is not necessarily how we come out. For instance, hope isn't always the first thing I turn to, it's fear. But hope, is what I always return to.
The middle is the way we cope with the reality of the present; the way we open to life or protect ourselves from it when it becomes too painful. If we choose to face our circumstances, I believe, each of us has the capacity to push through no matter your life situation and regain hope in ourselves.
After moments of fear, doubt, and denial, hope is what remains when the reality is not a great one. It serves as a resource, a strength, and a positive coping approach to help us tackle life's difficulties and come out stronger.
In many respects, hope involves having awareness that how you think, and what you do can influence how you feel, and this realization will help you see that you have some control over any set of circumstances.
When you change how you view external circumstances, you change how you feel about it. This is a reason to hope.
However, keep in mind, hope, like change is not linear. There are twists and turns and plateaus. All of this can be really hard. Struggles with hope are not a sign of weakness; more often than not, they serve as a guide to reconnect with self. Be willing to do the work and be patient with yourself.
May you approach life with hope.
Thank you for reading!
