Cultivating Hope in Dark Times

When we first were told to practice social distancing and to stay home I was pretty easy going.

I thought three weeks and things will be back to 'normal.' But now a few weeks in I don't know when things will be 'normal' again or even what that will look like.

This time has forced me to double down on my spiritual practice as a way of keeping my own sanity and helping others. 

I want to share with you some tools that can help you cultivate hope. 

If you haven't already start a daily gratitude practice this is great time to start. Too often people are waiting for everything to be perfect in their life before they express gratitude. But if you start to come into a state of gratitude first, allow yourself to feel grateful, you'll manage to do two very important things. 

There's science that shows that those who practice gratitude for ten minutes three times a day actually have a 50% increase in their immune system after just four days! Wow! That's truly amazing.

The other thing that gratitude does for you is that it starts to rewire your brain for joy. What we focus on expands. Focusing on things that make you grateful starts to train your brain to look for the good in life. 

I'm not saying that tragic things don't happen or that things don't sometimes suck. They do. But if in those dark times you can find even the smallest thing to be grateful for you'll start to move towards joy.

Some of the other ways you can create hope is to surround yourself with people and things that inspire you. That could be people you talk to on a regular basis, music, art or anything else that lifts your mood.

Do you ever have a conversation with someone either in person, on the phone or over FaceTime and when you're done the conversation you feel energized? That's a great sign! Those are the types of relationships you want to have more of in your life. 

I have many artist friends in my life- from authors to painters and musicians. One of my friends painted this beautiful painting called 'The Gardiner.' I splurged and got it for our family room. No matter how many hundreds of times I've seen it, every time I see it my spirit lifts a little. The painting welcomes me into the room. It's such a small thing but brings me so much joy. Because I know art brings me joy, all the rooms in my home have art in them.

For you it may not be art. Maybe it's music or dance or something else. Whatever it might be, find a way to have more of it in your life. This doesn't mean you have to be a musician or painter or artist of some kind. If you're a musician or painter or an artist find time to actually pursue your art. It'll bring you joy, a reprieve from all that's going on in the world. 

What brings you joy? Do more of that.