I have heard it said that the Divine works in paradox. We cannot have light without darkness for example. As I mentioned in a previous post, I keep hearing about hope. One example is Deepak Chopra’s message “Hope in the Face of Uncertainty” that he presented at the World Government Summit.
Caroline Myss reminds us that hope is the jewel found at the bottom of Pandora’s box. When we opened pandora’s box, anything goes including evil. But as the story goes, it’s hard to close it again. In fact, it could be impossible. Hope is a jewel found at the bottom of the box. But what does that mean?
In Buddhist teachings, hope can have a more profound meaning.
Hope is a desire of wanting various things or wanting life to be a certain way: hope for a new car, new job, and new love etc. Hope in this way creates an expectation. And if something comes in less than or not at all we can be disappointed or even fall into despair. Any form of fear, not love, moves us into suffering. What’s the gift?
In Buddhism, if we release, let go of expectation because we are and have everything then we can experience an inner state of completeness. We can experience a profound inner change that deeply affects how we move into the world. We can release our cravings. The discipline and practice of letting go can be easy in the moment or take us a lifetime. The point is these teachings give us a way to release suffering.
So how can we be free of hope and be fully present to our experiences? You tell me. I see the paradox of wanting things to be better, the wanting to feel hope in that and knowing I have no idea what the Divine plan is for us in this moment: for me personally or for us globally.
I see so many areas that I wish to 
change: better care of our topsoil, better care of our water, development that includes the environment in all its forms, better treatment of each other no matter our differences, better care of all species. I hope we are making a difference though it may not be readily visible.
I trust I am where I need to be in my present moment and that is all I know. To trust my inner prompting. To keep on following my heart’s direction. To be fully present to each moment of my day. The rest, as they say, will take care of itself.
Namaste. Judith
Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN, Writer, Speaker, and Workshop Presenter, Master Gardener.
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