“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” Nelson Mandela

I’ve been reflecting on hope this past week with the change of leaders in the United States. 

Hope can be uplifting and inspiring. It can lead to the most amazing actions. Hope can also lead to wishful thinking, self-doubt and feeling overwhelmed.

I saw both of these reactions in myself this past week.

Hope Without Grounding Can Be Self-Destructive

I’ve been reading a wonderful book, given to me by a friend recently, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.”  I felt inspired by William. Despite many hardships, he created a windmill out of the materials available to him in his village in Malawi. He was determined on many levels and his curiosity fueled his resilience.  His story filled me with hope for humanity and possibilities for the future.

This book, as well as the inauguration with Amanda Gorman’s poem and the new administration’s more uplifting message of unity instead of fear and division, had me excited and thinking what more I could do. The thing is, I went from expansive and uplifted to overwhelmed, guilty, and self-doubt.

That upward energy from multiple places uprooted me for a couple of days. This allowed the part of me that over-dos, over-gives, and over plans to jump in and take center stage. It was interesting to really see how hope, without an anchor, can create a whirlwind and mess in my mind.

I had a couple nights of sleep that wasn’t restful, I felt more rushed and some symptoms of a health condition increased.  In the past, unaware of what was happening, I’d have ended up taking on more, letting go of my own self-care and then in a couple of weeks end up exhausted.

Instead, I used my dedicated, daily Yoga practice (that is more about meditation than anything else), practice of self-accountability in my reactions, and knowing about this personal pattern to ground. I was able to get firm with myself to slow down, remind myself what my focus is for myself and my business, find patience in the process of life and meet what was underneath – “I’m not doing enough,” which is a form of “not enough.” 

So, my question to myself was, “How to harness hope so I don’t fly away and it’s powerful energy can be used constructively instead of being destructive?”

Emotions Are Energy in Motion

My teacher introduced the concept of stability and mobility in regards to asana (the physical postures of Yoga) during my second Yoga teacher training in 2015. As a mental health professional, this concept also fits well with managing emotions and the mind. 

Some emotions, like hope, joy, excitement, as well as jealousy, worry, and anger are upward energies. Some emotions like gratitude, calm, dread, self-doubt, and sadness have more of a downward energy to them.  Instead of looking at emotions as “good” or “bad,” which is a limiting and reducing view, I have found that seeing emotions, as my teacher would say, “as energy in motion,” allows for a more holistic perspective. Each emotion is rich with body sensations, breath sensations, and thoughts that are neither “good” or “bad.” They are just communication data.

Understanding emotions from this lens allows self-exploration of our emotional reactions so we can use what we learn to be constructive. In my case, since hope can easily become too much upward energy, I have to find ways to balance that energy out by taking action that is more grounding. When hope is grounded, the action I take is much more meaningful and lasting.

Typically, and more recently, when I have a surge of hope, I start first by pausing and breathing. I give thanks to what is hopeful and I remind myself all the ways I already give in my life so that my gifts help others. I remind myself to be patient. And I repeat, “I am enough. That is enough.” It gives me the clarity that I’m exactly where I need to be and just keep taking each day one step at a time. This is how hope helps me stay focused and clear on my actions.

When I don’t do this, hope can be just as self-destructive as anger or fear. When hope is able to fuel purposeful action and remind me of my important place in this world, it fills up the “I am enough” cup. This allows me to fully show up and support others in their healing and growing process.

Try a Different  Perspective

I encourage you to try this different perspective out. Look at emotions as energy in motion and take the action you need to find balance between expansion and grounding, stability and mobility, and upward and downward energy. Just like a tree uses its roots to support its branches and vice versa.

Where in your life does there need to be more stability and where in your life does there need to be more mobility?

“I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe.” -Dalai Lama

 

 

Namaste.