Hope. I hope I see my book published by spring of 2017. I hope I can visit China in the near future. I hope I can stay healthy well into my 90s.
Where in the world do those thoughts come from? From me. Those hopes are my aspirations, my goals, my anticipation for the future. When you have goals that can realistically be reached, and there is an optimism about that desire, you have hope. Hopes are different from wishes.
I wish I would win the lottery (not really), I wish I had long legs, I wish I wore a size 2 dress. Sorry, folks, those are never happening. First, I would have to buy a lottery ticket. Then, I was born with short legs (but I do wish I had long legs so I could reach the top cabinet). Then, I have never worn a size 2 dress, never, so that is so out of reach for me. And I wouldn't look good that thin. Wishes -- desiring something that has no basis in reality.
Hope -- desiring something that includes a mental will power and a realistic goal.
Wishing and hoping -- all the difference in the world.
When I was young, I wished for so much, but I never put forth the effort to make those wishes a reality. Instead, I hoped for a degree and to work in a field that I enjoyed. I systematically worked for those goals and they happened, they became my reality.
Then, hope goes beyond desire. There is something to be said about visualization and hope. I have tried this and for me it works. When I truly hope for something, I visualize it in my head before I make it a reality. I work through the process of obtaining my hope before I actually start the physical plan. It's like writing a story in my head before I actually sit down and write the story.
Once, I learned a great way to test visualization, and still to this day, it works when I truly concentrate on the visualization. It is simple. I am driving my car to the mall and I want to get a good parking space near a certain store. The parking lot is always jammed and usually, I can not find a parking space anywhere near the store I want to visit. While I am driving to the mall, I start visualizing a parking space close to the store, and once in the parking lot I head toward the certain area I have visualized in my head. I keep telling myself that the parking space will be available for me. I pull in and someone has just pulled out. I have my parking space.
Try it. On anything, not only a parking space. But you have to believe, you have to visualize yourself obtaining the desire. Let me know if it works for you. It's a 90% success rate for me, but I have to believe that it is mine. That is the key.
That belief, that optimism is the basis of hope. It comes from within, and you can bring it forward when you so desire.
Think of someone who is ill. When there is great hope, the illness is not so grave. It is only when the sick person gives into the illness will hope be lost and the illness takes hold. Of course, there are terminal illnesses that have gone past the stage of hope, but on the whole, there are many where hope helps people with the suffering that comes with illness.
Also, when a person has hope, they are usually optimistic about that future and has a greater sense of well-being, of being comfortable and happy. And when you are happy, you want a life that is healthy, so you eat better and you exercise and you laugh and you have happy thoughts.
Me. I just hope I publish my book by spring (nearly there, I have my to do lists), I continue working on my body so I can easily climb those steps at the Great Wall, and I really hope I stay healthy by eating healthy food and exercising well into my 90s because I have a lot of stories to write.
But then again, my glass has always been half full....
Until next time...stay hopeful for your desires to become a reality.
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