Does Hope Float?

By James Ladd

Charlie Brown, the little neurotic fellow we have all come to know and love is an eternal optimist when it comes to kicking a football. No matter how many times Lucy pulls the ball away he always hopes that the next time she will let him kick it.

In a way we are all like Charlie, no matter how often we hope, regardless of the outcome we always come back to it again and again. Because we have come to know that on those rare occasions we realize our hopes.

There is another reason though for clinging to our hopes, a much more powerful reason in fact. When there is nothing else, hope is essentially what keeps us afloat during those very difficult times in our lives. When we feel overwhelmed, that life is crashing down around us, we still have hope. We cling to it like a life preserver. At times even, it is the only thing that keeps us from drowning, keeps our heads above water and keeps us afloat. Does hope float? You bet it does!

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today. Thich Nhat Hanh

Hope is a human trait that all reasonably healthy individuals possess. After all when you reflect back over your life, how often do you recall hoping for something in your life? It could be rather frivolous like making it through a traffic light before it turns red, winning the lottery or as in my case the hope that a lung transplant would come in time to save my life.

I have tried over the years to not write or talk that much about what was the most difficult time on my life.

But let me share just a little bit......

After getting over the initial shock of being told that I would die without a transplant, hope began to grow out of the darkest time in my life. I clung to it for almost two full years along with a growing faith and belief that the dawn would come. I waited, watched and worked. Oh, how I worked to stay alive. I never ever gave up the fight.

After spending five months at the Riverview Health Center, at the eleven hour, they told me later I had perhaps one week left to live, the transplant came and here I am seven-and-a-half-years later. Yes, hope was my life preserver; it was all I had at times to keep me from drowning!

HOPE WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY

There is an aspect too hope that I suspect is not really talked about all that much if at all, and it seems to me, at least from my experience that authentically real hope only comes out of our willingness to take responsibility for our lives no matter what the circumstances, and as much as possible tell ourselves the truth about those circumstances. They say, whoever they are, that the truth will set you free and however difficult it is at times to hear the truth, I believe this to be true. It certainly was in my case. I believe too that when we behave in this way we magnify the strength of our expression of hope and its power.

Hope is the thing with feathers- That perches in the soul- And sings the tunes without the words- And never stops- at all. Emily Dickinson

Woodrow T. Wilson is credited with saying; "We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true."

It of course is not enough to be just a visionary (intuitive). The world has more than its share of dreamers; idealistic, romantic individuals whose lives never go nowhere. One must believe to the very core of their being that their hopes and dreams will become a reality. There is an energy that comes out of this belief or mindset. When you also understand the power that comes to you when you take responsibility and are prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to realize a dream or hope for your future it increases exponentially the probability of hopes and dreams being realized.

Hope...is the companion of power, and the mother of success; for who so hopes has within him the gift of miracles. Samuel Smiles

Will you take responsibility and leave this world a better place than you found it, or will you dream and hope your life away?

JAMES LADD B.A., C.H.R.P., C.P.I.R. Life & Business Coach, author and speaker, who has without a doubt been down the "Road Less Traveled," having survived and thrived after a double lung transplant in August of 2003. Jim comes to this place in his incredible life journey with a dynamic combination of work and life experience. Jim worked as an Organizational & Human Resource Development Specialist for over 35 years in the private, public & non-profit sectors and also managed a provincial government employee assistance program serving over 15,000 employees. He has authored and facilitated a wide variety of training programs covering such diverse topics as; managing organizational change, conflict resolution, performance management, managing and/or coping with stress, interviewing & counseling skills, supervisory & management skills. His most recent publication is titled: "THE PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION GUIDE; Raising Awareness of Self to Slay the Dragon." In the community he became an award winning football coach over the course of 25 years (Coach of the Year 3M of Canada, Coach of the Year, Developmental Category, Coaches Assoc. of Manitoba. In August of 2010, Jim was inducted into the Football Manitoba Hall of Fame in the coaching category.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Ladd