A new blogging friend, melodiousgarden posed the question: “What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?“
Something akin to a slide show of memories began to display in my mind’s eye as I reflected on the beautiful moments I have experienced in this life. There were so many. Which one to choose?
- Was my most beautiful experience in life to date witnessing the majesty of nature?
- Was it the smiles and laughter on the faces I loved?
- Was it the smile on the face of a recipient of an unexpected act of kindness?
- Was it being honored with the experience of being at a birth or death?
- Was it the images we all recognize as fine art?
- Was it one of my own images?
- Was it the peace that passes all understanding that I experience in meditation?
In the Buddhist tradition, hope and fear are elaborated into 8 Worldly Concerns, of which go like this:
“Hope for gain, fear of loss
Hope for pleasure, fear of pain
Hope for praise, fear of criticism or blame
Hope for fame, fear of infamy” – Hope and Fear in Blogging and Life
As I pondered the question a small place came to mind. Beauty maybe in the eye of the beholder and hope springs eternal in the human breast, but there are places and spaces where fear and despair dominate, and the common outlook is a pessimistic one, until the embers are stirred and hope lights hearts again.
Years ago I visited a small place in a remote and beautiful natural setting, where unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse had crippled a community. It was a place where generations lived in abject poverty, unable to find the path to recovery and healthy living.
Not long ago I visited that same place again. What a change! A remarkable turnabout occurred after one positively focused couple, a youth advocate and a recovery counsellor, begun to work with elders and youth.
The breakthrough came when the community came together to face their reality fearlessly and make a change in direction.
Conclusion
Hope is the most beautiful thing in the universe. Our hearts all yearn for a better tomorrow, but hope is not simply wishful thinking. Hope is ‘confident expectation in a change in direction’. Hope empowers us to be courageous. Courage is accepting reality even when one dislikes it. Courage is employing skillful means like taking steps to correct wrongs. — Hope, courage and strength
I have witnessed the bright candle of hope light up a dark corner of the world where misery prevailed and a downhill slide seemed inevitable. What I witnessed was a beautiful transformation from despair and negativity to hopefulness and a positive mindset. That transformation manifest first as single flicker of hope that lit up a whole community, where the youth of today will set bud, flower, fruit and sow the seeds for better times yet to come.
Reflection
Recommended Reading
Brainstorming strategy charts for… “Opening up to & CREATING a good outcome”
Discussion
The universe and our world is ever-changing and I intend to be part of the change for good. I intend to let go my attachment to negativity when it comes to where mankind is headed. I have lit the candle of hope in my heart and won’t let the flame of positivity burn out.
Have you witnessed hope lead to positive change in your own life or in the lives of others?
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Beautiful sentiments, TT. I think hope is what unites us in our humanity.
Thanks so much for sharing that Kris. I think you’re right.
WoW! this is so me, TT! :)
Thank you for sharing these thoughts about Hope and Being Posiitve.
Interesting enough, today I read by chance something beautiful which I think it’s all to do with Hope. So here it is:
“Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come” – Chinese proverb.
Let all our Hopes see the Light we desire.
Bless,
TreeSpirit (… oh by the way, I love your new layout!)
treespirit,
That’s so perefct for you and from you. May you be well and happy.
Beautifully done! Hope is what got me up in the morning in profound depression. Hope is what gives me courage to place one foot in front of the other when the hill is too steep to climb. Hope puts a spark in your eye and a ‘hitch in your giddy-up’. Hope is beautiful indeed! Now I need to scratch hope from my list of beautiful things to write about on my new blog – thanks a lot! :)
I’ve suffered from depression too and like you it was hope that got me up and going every day.
Broken Hopes
As the tree is fertilized by its own broken branches and
fallen leaves, and grows out of its own decay, so men
and nations are bettered and improved by trial, and refined
out of broken hopes and blighted expectations.
~F. W. Robertson
“Have you witnessed hope lead to positive change in your own life or in the lives of others?”
TiTi (specifically) I have witnessed these three *positive changes*
1. 1984 in the Soviet Union experiencing the warmth of common ground that ended The Cold War.
2. 1980′s and 90′s visits to Ireland as a Protestant married to a native Irish Catholic witnessing and being common ground to the improved peace, and mutual tolerance.
3. 1960′s – 70′s and The Civil Rights Movement. During those years just about everyone felt the negative and positive forces of establishing common ground. It was hope constantly being refined that ultimately brought us to where we are today.
And so we are now witnessing the *hope* of the peoples of Mexico that there will be an end to their troubles. One can listen to their constant cry for hope via radio broadcast…
Thank you TiTi for a very hopeful and poignant post.
Dear Rand,
I have also witnessed positive changes and as I read your comment again I became more aware of them. Thank you so much for reminding me.
And when they are alive now, the more riches we feel from knowing them.
Thanks timethief for the Buddhist contemplative words.
Hi Jean,
I hear you when you speak of being in a large family, and of family members with terminal illnesses, and being more aware of the reality of our own inevitable end as we age. I’m finding both awareness and aging are a call to be grateful for the time I have with those I love.
And one of the hardest things can be:
Hope for love, fear of loss
Sometimes I feel incredibly blessed to be part of a large family..5 siblings (but now only 4), 2 parents together (with 1 terminally ill with cancer) and 7 nieces and nephews. Plus about 40 other relatives …all scattered across Metro Toronto. But the more people we love, the more times we will feel sadness when they are no longer around. The older we get, the more we feel this duality more sharply.
tt, very beautiful writing! hope is a great thing, and probably the only thing i could rely on, when in dark moment of the world (or my life).
Yun Yi,
Thanks for the compliment on my writing. I have lived through many traumatic events. There have been many dark moments in my life and many times I have had to stir the ember of hope I found deep in my heart. I wish you all the best.
Hope is the push one needs to get one’s body in motion. It can come from an outside source, or from inside oneself. Once one gets moving there’s no telling how far one can go.
Dear Marty,
I like the way you expressed that so much. Hope can be contagious.
I’m moved by the depth of your writing in this post, time thief. I agree, hope is one of the greatest gifts we can give to our self or others. The only problem comes when we cling too strongly to a particular outcome, when our hope is actually attachment rather than a positive optimism born from a pure heart. Then suffering comes.
Hi Sandra,
Yes, you are right, if we project a specific outcome and cling to it we are off-course and headed for suffering.
From another tradition: Heal the heart to create a heart-centered life
“People usually feel that their outlook on life depends on their circumstances, but the opposite is true. Optimism is a product of the heart, not of the circumstances. Optimism makes conditions move easily towards fulfillment and success. Optimism is natural and pessimism is unnatural, regardless of the situation.” — – Hazrat Inayat Khan
I’d never have got out of London to a new life here if I’d not believed in hope.
We would never have moved to the coast and started our own business if we wouldn’t have had hope.
Thanks for reaffirming the power of individuals and their attitude and direction can change things. So, much pessimism sometimes it is hard to maintain belief in hope.
Sometimes I do find it hard not to be cynical and depressed. But I have learned that when a self-negating thought comes to mind I can counter with a positive thought. Sometimes hope burns brightly but when it doesn’t, I stir the embers so I can have a humble but reasonable confidence in a better future.
I can’t imagine a life without hope. I think it is what motivates me most and makes me such an optimist. Whenever things haven’t gone well in life or I have had setbacks I have relied on it to move forward.
Love this!
Hope is agreat motivator and your optimism is well founded. :) Ultimately, hope is a life preserving choice rooted in self-love, as those mired in self-loathing and without hope are drawn to suicide. Self-love and self-confidence empower us to envision better times to come.
Good point! Your comment is a great message to start my Saturday!
“hope” is such a precious quality to have in our hearts and minds…so very, very precious and so important to nourish and then offer to others.
One of the most beautiful spot I’ve ever been was in a rainforest…a moment that changed my life… a fallen tree with vines and new growth sprouting out of it…and it just happens to be the background of a page I made a few weeks ago… and I just added it to a blog I’m part of…. reflections…..showing how the eight worldly winds may be similar to the vines and tangles, but underneath that is the beauty of a quiet mind…a mind that is nourished with hope and love. here it is http://reflectionsfromafriend.wordpress.com/extra-special-pages/mental-factors-and-8-worldly-winds/
And, for me, one of the most beautiful expressions of love, hope and compassion is in Shantideva’s Prayer…which just happens to be on both pp and reflections today http://pocketperspectives.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/a-very-special-thought-so-long-as-space-remains/
There can be so much to be sad and fearful about…but I’ve learned to choose kindness and to do everything I possibly can to alleviate sadness and fear.
Your graphics are so compelling as are your words … “underneath that is the beauty of a quiet mind…a mind that is nourished with hope and love”. The degree of happiness and suffering we accrue in our lives is more determined by what we believe about what happens to us than what actually happens to us. A quiet mind can employ skillful means to cultivate hope ie. a confident expectation in a change in direction. “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” –Buddha
It took me so long to get that idea…that it’s one’s reaction to what has happened or what one believes has happened….such a very long time before I understood that….and certainly accessing a quiet mind was helpful in developing that understanding. I love that quote about the candles…such a special awareness…