I don’t know. I’m somewhere in between, sharing my thoughts while I reach either side of this hope spectrum.
Hope is the state of wanting things to be different than they are. Consider the possibility that hope is often the very thing that makes real tranquility impossible.
I read this somewhere (I forgot where exactly), and I kind of agree. When we keep hoping that the next moment will be better, we end up waiting—always looking ahead, never really living in this moment. But at the same time, having no hope takes away the very thing that makes us feel alive - the belief that something good is coming.
This thought stayed with me as I tried to find an answer. And, of course, I found it while reading (which is where this confusion started in the first place).
In Nedra Glover Tawwab’s newsletter, Anticipation is Good for Us, she wrote:
Joy is created when we anticipate something. And if we realize we don’t have anything to look forward to, that’s a sign—it’s time to create something.
That made so much sense. Just hoping isn’t enough. We need to plan for our hope.
A brunch with friends. A short trip. A visit to a bookstore. Even something as simple as a morning walk. These small plans align us with hope and give us something to look forward to.
I like to call it giving hope some preparation time. But I also leave space for life to surprise me. Because even with all the planning, there’s always something bigger at play, deciding what happens and what doesn’t.
And the more I think about it, the more I realize that life is rarely black and white. There are too many shades in between, and we have to live through each one before we reach either side or decide to stay in between.
Take a Little Pause 🌼
What’s something you want to be hopeful about? And how can you plan for it?
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My Moment of Pause/Calm🌿
I’m continuing my experiment with two no-phone days every week - now completed a month😊I will share what I’ve uncovered with this experiment in my next post.
What have you heard, seen, or done this week that brought you a moment of calm? I’d love to hear! 💛
Now?
Sharing what I’m watching, reading, and learning!
📺 Slowly watching: Nothing at the moment
📖 Happily reading: Mastery by Robert Greene, and Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish (More book recs? Check my list!)
🎨 Doing: I made it to Day 9/100 of learning Procreate. I share what I create in Substack Notes.
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Take care! 💛
Rachna
I write Take a Little Pause for those who wish to live a wholehearted life. This newsletter is a journal of my experiments in living wholeheartedly, with each post accompanied by visuals created by me. If you’re on a similar journey, subscribe for free, or consider becoming a paid Patreon to support my writing and help me publish a coffee-table book. 💛