HOPE MONTH: DAY 1: “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” ― Barack Obama
Yes! There is always something to do. When I have had hard times, I have found the most amazing things to do that took no money and kept me from expecting outcomes for anything.
Today I live a lifestyle that is pretty income-restricted. I have more fun than most people I know with substantial incomes. Because I insist on living life, not dwelling in hopeless frustration and waiting for life to bring me treasures I have not earned, nor would feed my spirit.
Spirit requires little in the material world. A walk in the trees has more sustenance for my spirit than a whole day of spa treatments. A walk on the beach is priceless AND I find a lot of cool rocks and things.
A day spent listening to someone who’s needs are far greater than mine is great, if they do not expect me to fix things for them. I can listen, but I have no solutions other than my own. Many times, I find that others want to talk about their problems rather than creative ways to resolve them.
Celebrating anyone’s successes is an uplifting way to spend some time when I am feeling low. If good things are happening for others, there is always hope for me, too. That was my greatest source of hope when I was new here, in those first 8-10 years. Fear was a common thread in my life. I was establishing the basis of my ongoing recovery.
I was working daily with gratitude and developing a long-term relationship with myself…my inner self, not my ego. I was required to focus on the miracles and not my fear. I was walking away from my addiction to drama and self-centered morbidity.
It was amazing! When I got into moving through the stuff, rather than sitting in the muck, I could do so much more! I would sing and dance for joy on even the scariest of days. What I began to see was the pattern of lies my ego told me.
That it had been a tough DAY…really? NO! There were 5-7 minute intervals of self-consumed ideation, followed by an hour or so of doubt and fear. This occurred perhaps two or three times in the morning, afternoon and at night.
So, the solution was to name the times, rather than trashing a whole day. Most of the day had gone well, if I were to shift my perspective. My car had run well all day, taking me to places I needed to go. Or I could walk and the weather was nice and I got some much-needed exercise and fresh air. And, I could stop and say hello to everyone I saw on the way, looking into their eyes and giving them the gift of presence. It can save someone’s life, maybe mine.
And to sit with the crazy stuff my mind is dwelling on and learn to laugh at how silly and self-obsessed I am! OMG! I love self-inflicted drama! I love to live in the fear and create life-shattering outcomes that are not really going on in the world around me. It is great shit! But I must remember that screaming purple monkeys love to do one thing more than anything else…that is to throw shit as much as possible! I love Step 2. I love that there is always hope, that it is NOT my job to figure any of it out, just to move away from my thinking and my brain. I cannot stop it or control it…sound familiar???? Just like addiction, it is another form of powerlessness I must accept. SO, I get out and do good things for others, and I benefit! If all I can do is help a friend pull weeds in their garden, I do it! Or I wash windows or cook a hot meal for them. I can do these things and we both gain great benefit. Or I get off my ass and take a walk in Nature…not the mall, Nature! I am fed and fed well. That is all!
Dolphin Hug 