Taking in the Good

 I've heard several comments about hope over the years: 

• Hope is the most dangerous thing in a human; 
• Hope can be a driving force, a source of strength, and a beacon of light in the darkest times; 
• People with higher levels of hope tend to have better mental health outcomes and a higher quality of life.

The American Heritge Dictionary defines HOPE as "The longing or desire for something accompanied by the belief in the possibility of its occurrence."

One of the books my therapist recently gave me to study was Krista Tippett's Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living. She has a whole chapter on Hope as one of five virtues-- raw materials we humans can use to become wise. Here is something I learned for Krista's book to help me escape the "breaking news" and fill it with "fixing news."

"Hope is distinct, in my mind, from optimism or idealism. It has nothing to do with wishing. It references reality at every turn and reveres truth. It lives open-eyed and wholehearted within the darkness that is woven ineluctably into the light of life and sometimes seems to overcome it. (pg.232)

Hope inspires goodness to reveal itself. Hope takes goodness seriously, treats it as a data point, takes it in. This is a virtue for living in and of itself: taking in the good… (pg.259)

Our world is abundant with quiet hidden lives of beauty and courage and goodness. There are millions of people at any given moment, young and old, giving themselves over to service, risking hope, and all the while ennobling us all. To take such goodness in and let it matter - to let it define our take on reality as much as headlines of violence - is a choice we can make to live by the light in the darkness, to be brave and free… Taking in the good whenever and wherever we find it, gives us new eyes for seeing and living.” (pg. 265)

May you take in the good today.