Dear Diary,<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve said for a few years now \u2018Hope is the Mechanism for Meaning.\u2019\u00a0 In the math equation, \u2018a + b = c\u2019 Hope is \u2018b.\u2019\u00a0 You decide what you want to try to accomplish (\u2018c\u2019), and what you are left with is you and the effort you put in (\u2018a\u2019). \u00a0\u00a0However, what happens when we look at what we want to try to accomplish and determine it to be futile?\u00a0 Futility is another way of expressing meaninglessness in the grand scheme of things.\u00a0 If we no longer believe the results of our actions are going to yield an adequate level of meaning for the effort we invest, the equation falls apart; hope fails.<\/p>\n
Yet, the resiliency of people is an often underappreciated facet of the equation.\u00a0 How many times have we used rhetoric to the effect of hopelessness yet we continued the journey anyway?\u00a0 Diminished hope is still hope.\u00a0 If we truly and completely had no hope left, we would cease permanently.\u00a0 However, people have a remarkable capacity to redouble their efforts as opposed to surrendering.\u00a0 People reaching deep in times of duress further cements the relationship between hope and meaning, as people reinforce the \u2018why\u2019 they are on the path they have assigned themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust try\/work harder\u201d isn\u2019t always the answer and is a shortcoming of the culture of the USA.\u00a0 While being willing to get into the trenches and fight may be admirable in certain circumstances, it isn\u2019t a universal solution.\u00a0 There are times when taking time to rest and reflect is the better choice.\u00a0 After all, one can not see through muddy waters and you can not make them clearer by waving your arms about. If you let the waters clear and revisit them, you may find whatever you thought the situation was has resolved itself.<\/p>\n
Letting yourself rest can be more difficult than working with an attitude of futility.\u00a0 If you\u2019re working, you can temporarily try to escape yourself, whereas if you take the time to rest, it becomes harder to avoid that confrontation.\u00a0 However, no matter where you go there you are.\u00a0 The Hope Equation can and does, have recency biases;\u00a0 it can look like a + b \u2013 R = c whereas R is Recent\/unResolved pain.\u00a0 The R is capitalized because negativity tends to outweigh positivity by a large margin in our minds.\u00a0 Dealing with (R) takes a bespoke approach per person, per situation.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t always have answers for how to address (R), and rather than being comfortable with that as an acceptable outcome, we begin to make (R) larger by piling on additional negativity to ourselves.\u00a0 We become angry with ourselves for not being able to eliminate (R) from the equation on demand,\u00a0 and we add guilt to our existing burden for needing time instead of understanding time is often the answer.\u00a0 It is perfectly acceptable to take a journey to the answer, and part of that journey is watching the clouds pass with nary a thought in your mind.\u00a0 Rest isn\u2019t merely the absence of muscle tension, after all.<\/p>\n
Big things are comprised of little things.\u00a0 If our larger Hope Equation of a + b \u2013 R = c is one we are stuck on because (R) is just too much, shift your focus from that first (c) \u2013 we\u2019ll call it (c1).\u00a0\u00a0 Redefine the (R) from the (c1) Hope Equation into the new (c)-(c2). \u00a0So, now as we learn more about ourselves, we assign meaning to the obstacle that prevented us previously. \u00a0\u00a0If that remains too complex a task continue to break it down until we can look at it step by step instead of feeling overwhelmed by the big picture all at once.<\/p>\n
For some things, as we break down the Hope Equation into smaller, more manageable steps, we will discover we are trying to insert our will, control, into things that are uncontrollable at an individual level.\u00a0 In the USA, particularly for some demographics, the idea of not being in control is fundamentally uncomfortable.\u00a0 However, \u00a0do you know how to make your heart beat?\u00a0 Do you know how to operate your glands, or digest food?\u00a0 How \u2018in control\u2019 are you, really?\u00a0 We have this vague notion of consciousness but do you know what that is \u2013 other than you are pretty sure you have it?<\/p>\n
We do have the capacity to control many things, particularly destructive things, but we also have the ability to allow things to be of their accord.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have to be in the trenches all the time; it is ok to rest, and let some things resolve themselves without our direct input.\u00a0 It is ok to honor the meaning of the work we\u2019ve put in already but not to be bound to that path forever, particularly if that path causes more pain than meaning.\u00a0 If, at the moment, you feel hopeless because all actions lead to futility it is ok to re-evaluate;\u00a0 hope is still there -just momentarily dim.\u00a0 Hope can be bright again, even if we need to take a step back for a bit to rekindle it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Diary, I\u2019ve said for a few years now \u2018Hope is the Mechanism for Meaning.\u2019\u00a0 In the math equation, \u2018a + b = c\u2019 Hope is \u2018b.\u2019\u00a0 You decide what you want to try to accomplish (\u2018c\u2019), and what you are left with is you and the effort you put in (\u2018a\u2019). \u00a0\u00a0However, what happens […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[332,168],"class_list":["post-28966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-mindfulness-journey","tag-332","tag-hope"],"yoast_head":"\n