These last few weeks, I have been wondering how to write about my hopelessness that I have been feeling concerning the future of our children and grandchildren.

I wondered, could I shift my distress and anxiety to something more positive? I found the answer in an article by a new mother recently back from maternity leave, Carol Linnitt, the editor-in-chief of The Narwhal. “Our world is giving us every indication we are moving into new versions of reality that are accelerating our collective vulnerabilities across the board,” Linnitt wrote. “I have been asked many times how, as an environmental journalist, I keep going, year after year. My answer now is the same as it was a decade ago: there is no sense in being hopeless until there is nothing left to hope for. And we have so much to hope for.”

Her words were the message I needed to hear. If a new mother who is an environmental journalist can have hope, why not me?

Did you know that hope comes from the Old English/Frisian hopa meaning, ‘to have confidence in the future’? Did you know that hope counters despair?

I found a list of books on hope at Spirituality and Practice. Two of these live on my bookshelf, Perseverance by Margaret Wheatley, and Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver. I have heard both women speak in public. As I write this, I am reminded that I have also heard Maya Angelou and the Dalai Lama speak at events in Vancouver. I am astounded to remember they all mentioned hope!

Perseverance, writes Wheatley, is a day-by-day decision not to give up. “Perseverance is strengthened and emboldened by choice, clarity, experiments, opening to the world, faith, patience, joy, and play.”

Small Wonder is an essay collection on things big and small. The essays are grounded in Kingsolver’s belief that “our largest problems have grown from the earth’s remotest corners as well as our own backyards, and answers may lie in those places, too.”

The Dalai Lama inspires hope with his smile, laughter, and larger-than-life personality. He believes that our lives depend on hope and that 'alongside hope, there is a need to focus on courage'.

I return to Linnitt’s words, “There is no sense in being hopeless until there is nothing left to hope for. And we have so much to hope for.”

I think not of the future we are leaving future generations but of what future generations will bring to this world.

I speak aloud the words - perseverance, courage, and compassion. These are all qualities that live within me.

I will continue to express my moral outrage. But my heart feels a little lighter - and a lot more hopeful.

Other resources of mine you might find helpful:

Blog post: Seeds of Hope

Workshop: Life Stories of Hope and Resilience

There Is So Much To Hope For