I am in the midst of moving house and as is wont to happen, nothing is going according to the vision and plans that had been lightly conjured in my head. This I know, intellectually is the inevitable course of life unfolding in its own unique way. Resisting its force or getting upset by things that do not go my way I realise are futile. But the distractions are many and so seductively magnetic that I am easily caught up in negativity without even realising it. It is easier to move with and through the torrents of trials as they come my way and not give in to these powerful yet destructive forces. As I sought out the virtue that would ease my way through whatever the day may bring, I had to take the time to meditate on the significance of hope. I realise that hope is the virtue that walks with me through suffering. I must shroud myself with it at the outset to withstand whatever may come. How do I not simply admire it from a distance but to actually live inside it? What does it look like to practice surrendering to its all consuming embrace? No doubt this will look different depending on what it is that I am facing, but to ask these questions is where I ought to begin. It is a Baha'i Holy Day today, the Declaration of the Bab, one that marks the time of the beginning of this new Dispensation. This is one of my favourite Holy Days and offers me examples of and insights into what it is to demonstrate hope, to resist the pull of the negative forces, and set my sights on what the future holds, being open to the most unlikely of things that may occur. To have faith in the synchronicity of happenstance and believe that all has been orchestrated for my benefit, requires for me to trust. When I give in to the forces of anxiety about what may happen or get swirled away in the swells of depression over what has happened, I am stealing the precious energy I have been gifted to make the best of and discern the opportunities that are treasured up in this day! The things that pertain to this life are fleeting and these distractions serve only to distract us from living our lives fully. Hope assures me that there are fruits eagerly waiting to be harvested from my suffering, in fact it is the tool that I need to perform this undertaking.
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