Holding on to hope - three keys to staying upbeat

Hope is a self-evident truth — imagine a world without it; no looking forward to tomorrow, no endeavours to better oneself, just a long dragging on of living, one day after the next.

- SHANTANU MANDAL

Hope is a powerful energy and is based on optimism; that there is something meaningful and important in any situation — we just have to look for it.

We all start any initiative with hope. However, we sometimes forget to factor in that it is in the nature of things for stumbling blocks to come along once in a while. Some of us can come to a standstill when we encounter them. We forget that they are there to test our resolve, to show us new ways forward, to strengthen our determination. Stumbling blocks are not meant to stop us in our tracks — they are there to move us forward and find new perspectives. Hope needs to continue to burn brightly. It is a law of life that everything changes, nothing stays the same, and how boring it would be if it did.

Dadi Janki, the late Administrative Head of the Brahma Kumaris, once told me that there are three values you must have in order to master the art of meditation:

1. Patience

2. Patience

3. Patience