There’s no doubt that it can be hard to maintain hope in the midst of the daily grind: when you’re squashed onto a train in rush hour, crushed up against a stranger’s armpit, scrolling through pictures of other people on vacation; when you get the fourth gently patronizing rejection in a week for a job you didn’t really want anyway; when the bus doesn’t stop because the driver didn’t see you; when your feet get wet because the roads are full potholes and you can’t afford new trainers; when you’re not sure where the money you need for this month is going to come from. And we can sometimes criticize ourselves very harshly when we’re feeling run-down.
So it’s important that we look at how we might navigate the everyday, “ordinary” challenges and make hope a part of our daily lives, before we move on to the bigger trials all humans face—such as anxiety, loss, and grief—and how we create hope there.
Try This: Appreciate Everyday Beauty
Make a habit of noticing one beautiful thing every day. This can be as simple as the reflection of streetlights in puddles, an architectural feature of a building you pass frequently, a loved one’s smile or laughter, dogs playing in the park. Once you’ve noticed it, allow yourself a few moments to enjoy it. I find that these short periods of appreciation and reflection make me feel more hopeful about what’s good in the world, especially when I feel a bit overwhelmed. If we can focus on the everyday beauty all around us, if only for a short time, it can give us a breath of respite—a moment of pause to allow our minds to take a step back.
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