Your Daily Dose of Hope

My friend Teresa and I share posts and memes we see online with each other. We have a similar sense of humor, and we also share similar outrage at things that are making the headlines.  Last week she sent a post and her comment was “maybe a little daylight is coming.” In response to a post about current events that had a hopeful list of good things that have happened lately.  I’m an optimist at heart, but I’m not immune from feeling overwhelmed at some of the things happening in the world. There are legitimate suffering, wars and conflicts as well as natural disasters that remind us that at anytime things can go haywire.  Still, the reminder from a friend that a little daylight showed up, some good news among the headlines made me smile.  It made me appreciate having a friend who knows me and encourages me, and it reminded me once again that hope shows up when we need it.  Not when things are perfect, but when we know that things can get better.  Here’s a short, hope-filled list you can use or adapt: The first warm day after a long stretch of cold A kind message arriving exactly when you needed it A small win that reminds you you’re making progress Laughter that surprises you in the middle of a hard week A plan on the calendar you’re quietly excited about The moment you realize something that once hurt now hurts a little less New ideas that make you feel curious again Rest that actually feels like rest Each of these is a quiet whisper of hope: good things are still unfolding.

This is from an email from Kelly Nolan, the host of the Bright Method Podcast. https://kellynolan.com/podcast If you struggle with that 5pm darkness, I wanted to share some tips from this community on how to make this time of year a bit brighter, pick and choose what sounds great and doable for you! Here are tips from other women: Embrace the cozy! "Fires in the fireplace! We chose our house specifically because it had a wood burning fireplace. It makes everything so cozy, and it also is something we only do when the weather gets cold so it’s something to look forward to in the cold/dark months up here in Alaska." "Cozy things like Hallmark movies, a faux fireplace, and candles when it's dark out" "We received a tea advent calendar last year. It allowed my husband and I to sit each evening and relax together. We started a cool weather tradition with it. So now that it's cooler, each night we make a cup of hot tea and sit and relax. It gives us something look forward to." "Leaning into autumn with hot chocolates" Getting outside: "Early morning walk" "I try to get outside and walk midday! As long as I can in the fall!" "Daily walks! And NOT reaching for cup after cup of coffee even when it’s still pitch black at school drop off " "I got a really really good down coat so that I can get outside as often as I want without discomfort!" Making the dark fun "Make the dark fun. To the extent that it's safe to do so... take walks under the moon, roast marshmallows on your grill, get breakfast for dinner at a diner. We lean into the dark and cold here because the alternative is fighting it and not winning. " "We got our young kids light sabers so we could continue our after dinner neighborhood walks" "On the nights we’re home, really embracing the dark with candles, dimmed lights, etc." And some more tips! "Using my SAD lamp like there’s no tomorrow" "A fall bucket list! Having small things to look forward to as a family is so life giving! And, in a perfect world for me as a south Florida girl who was raised in Colorado, I just get so excited to be able to enjoy the weather outside again" Embracing the season brings hope along with the reminder that the short, dark days of winter don’t last. Find a way to have a few go-to rituals that remind you to celebrate and appreciate today. 

4000 Mondays Episode on the Gals Get Real Podcast https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SAS2569073303.mp3 There’s a quiet little truth that stops me in my tracks every time I think about it: the average human life contains about 4,000 Mondays. Four thousand fresh starts. Four thousand chances to begin again. Four thousand invitations to try, to rest, to grow, to heal. Some Mondays arrive wrapped in energy and excitement. Others show up heavy, slow, or uncertain. Some you race into. Others you survive. But every single one still carries the same quiet gift: possibility. Hope lives in that space. Hope isn’t always loud. It doesn’t always feel like confidence or certainty. Sometimes hope is simply the decision to get up and meet the day, even when you’re tired, grieving, unsure, or starting over yet again. Hope is the belief that this Monday, even if it looks ordinary or difficult, still belongs to you. When we remember that our Mondays are numbered, something shifts. We stop postponing the things that matter most. We become more intentional with our words, our time, our forgiveness, our joy. We take fewer moments for granted. We become gentler with ourselves. We take braver steps. Hope reminds us: You don’t need to wait for a perfect Monday to begin again. You don’t need to have everything figured out to move forward. You don’t need a brand-new life to make a meaningful change. You just need this Monday. Maybe today is a rebuilding Monday. A resting Monday. A dreaming Monday. A “take the next small step” Monday. All of them count. So if today feels heavy, let hope sit beside you. If today feels quiet, let hope whisper to you. And if today feels full of possibility, lean in. Because one day, long from now, you may look back and realize this was one of the Mondays that quietly shaped your life. And that, my friend, is the power of hope.

Today’s message is simple: your future self is already rooting for you. She’s standing somewhere up ahead, maybe six months, maybe six years, looking back with gratitude for the choices you’re making right now. Time is kinda weird. As I get older, I look back now and see all the things I accomplished but didn’t celebrate. Things that had a huge impact on how my life is today. The 20 year old me would have never imagined where I am now. Even the 30 year old me didn’t know how many options and choices I really had.  Lean into what your future self wants you to know.  Every time you try, even if you don’t nail it… she cheers.Every time you say yes to something brave… she cheers.Every time you rest because you needed it… she definitely cheers. Hope grows when you remember that your story isn’t finished. There are versions of you you haven’t met yet—wiser, calmer, more confident, more joyful. She doesn’t need you to be perfect today. She just needs you to keep going. So today, imagine her. See her smiling at you, waving you forward, whispering, “Keep going. You’re doing better than you think.” Let that be your hope today. The future you is already celebrating the present you.

Let’s talk about small wins, the ones so tiny you often step right over them while waiting for something “big” to happen. You cleaned out one drawer? Win.You sent the email you’ve been avoiding? Win.You drank water before coffee? Win.  You worked out when you didn’t feel like it? Olympic-level win. We underestimate the power of small wins because they don’t feel dramatic. But hope grows from momentum, not magnitude. Every tiny action that moves you forward, even one inch signals to your brain, “Hey, we’re doing this. We’re actually doing this!” It builds self-trust. It builds confidence. It builds… you guessed it… hope. So today, celebrate one small win. It can be laughably small. “I folded one shirt.” “I walked to the mailbox.” “I was on time for my meeting.” There are so many everyday things that we do for ourselves and for others. Pick one and celebrate it, just for a minute.  Hope isn’t built in sweeping gestures, it’s built in the quiet stacking of small wins that turn into big change. Pick your win today. Notice it. Appreciate it. Let it count.