Have Hope
I wanted to write about a topic called hope today, mainly because I feel that alot of people have given up in regards to this year. I have seen so much negativity on social media and so much fear that I thought a blog on hope seemed suitable. This year wasn't what anyone expected, like most people I had dreams and ambitions that in honesty I thought would happen this year. If you have made it through the last 6 months well done! I know I was down for the count on many occasions and I found it difficult to be motivated. In today's culture having hope is often seen as naive and quite silly but I'd like to encourage you today to have hope, to look at the next 4 months and be hopeful for them. This year may have started horribly but it doesn't have to end that way! So I hope you like this blog on hope ;)
If I'm being completely honest I had no hope for this year after Covid-19 hit the news. It was a double wammy too because not only did I lose the ability to do the job that I love for months, but I also had my wedding cancelled. I was luckier than most people, I had my family around me and I was healthy but I was so focused on what went wrong that I struggled to feel content. I don't know if you find this too but reading posts on social media REALLY didn't help me. Everyone was so negative and saying nothing would be the same until 2022!! I had little hope and no determination. It was only when little routines began to fall back into place that I started to feel more myself. Maybe your life at the moment is slowly getting back to normal, maybe you are feeling better but you are worried everything will go wrong again. This anxiety can be difficult to tackle but have hope that things will and are getting better.
I remember a few weeks ago playing a gig and honestly I felt like my old self again instantly. When you are passionate about something, not doing it for a long time can hurt your soul and motivation. At home I would rewatch series and bake soooo much cake! I had no desire to do anything musical because I was so sad that I couldn't do what I really loved, which was performing infront of a live audience. If you are a musician, hang in there and don't stress. Live music is essential and it is so enjoyed by establishments, everything will be back to normal soon enough so have hope! It is easy to look at these past few months and think things will never change but they are and they will, it just takes time. I chatted in my last blog about making the most of the time you have, use it to pick up a hobby or follow a passion that you forgot about. If you have time then use it wisely, I am so glad that I have felt more positive and started to work on my projects again!
(Side Note) It is also important to rest! If you are finding yourself lacking motivation and feeling down then try to rest and relax too. Give yourself a break and treat yourself, after this year you deserve it! If you are exhausted after reading people arguing online or being nasty online then have a break from social media. I had a week break a few weeks ago and it made me feel so much better. You'd be surprised how worrying tweets or angry Facebook posts can effect your mind and make you feel anxious. If you feel yourself getting bogged down then take a pause, it really does ease your mind, trust me!
Anyway, back to the topic! If you are reading this today and you are still struggling to find hope in everyday life then don't worry. Being hopeful is a practice, it can be difficult to have hope when things are falling apart around you. My advice would be to make a list of 5 things you are grateful for in your life and begin writing down a list of things you are looking forward to aswell. This time is only a fraction of our lives, people forget that and think that situations will last forever, but they won't. This time will pass and then we'll all be back to normal and so busy that we won't know what to do with ourselves!! Being hopeful isn't a bad thing and if anyone tries to shame you for being hopeful then they are just being negative. Having hope doesn't mean you don't see the realistic challenges, it just means you are positive for the future and hopeful that things will get better. I love people who are positive and I have surrounded myself with hopeful people, we all need hope on a bad day so keep going and keep hoping.
So as I close, I hope this blog has encouraged you today. As I said it can be easy to feel alone and hopeless with everything that is going on in the world. There seems to be no hope anywhere from time to time but things will get better. Things will improve and I know this because I am slowly starting to see it. People are returning to the jobs they love, people are starting new businesses, people are seeing family members again, people are getting married! There are good news stories everywhere if you look for them, its not all gloom and doom. This week I challenge you to write down the 5 things that you feel grateful for and keep doing this and day by day you'll find yourself happier. One of my lists the other week was that I was thankful for 'A hot bath, oreo cookies, my dogs, a letter my friend wrote to me and that my cake turned out well!' They can be the smallest things but if it makes you grateful then that is what matters. Have hope and be a positive person this year.
- Lots of Love
- C