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I reject your reality and substitute my own.
There can never be only one.
What delightful bits of information have I got to share with the world? Could there be something here you've never seen before? Are there tidbits of cortical stimulation hiding somewhere between these lines of code?
Maybe. Just maybe I can convince you of a speck of truth with these words. I can tell you five words that I believe are important to me. In fact, these five words have become a mantra of sorts. Helping to clear the fog of despair, fear and misery, these five words to focus on help bring me back to center so I can see again. Perhaps these words are just... words.
Hope.
I'll start with the official definition. :
A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
So hope isn't just a word. It's a feeling. Expectation & Desire. Okay two feelings. One or the other? Possibly both at the same time. But what does hope mean to you?
For me, right now, I hope to work my way into a better future. Hope to find the right opportunities to be able to support my family. Hope that I'm not living in a tent next month. Hope that my friends, family, and loved ones will prosper. I hope that all of us, together, can keep the world from exploding tomorrow.
I most certainly desire these things. To expect them may be a little more tricky. Do I expect an alcoholic to stop drinking? No, but I hope they do. Do I expect this very first internet page I've made to have a substantial effect on my finances? No, but I hope it does.
A person will hope as they wish for whatever they wish. It can be salvation for some and sarcasm for others. I hope you die. I hope you're happy. I hope she says yes. Regardless of your context, your hope is important. Steer it towards your desires and expectations of success and it will serve you best.
Hope
Faith.
complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
Trust or confidence. Again, could it be both? Who do you trust? What things can we confide in?
I have faith. Faith in humanity, in myself, as well as our reality. God as a being or as a force, or as the sand we walk upon commands faith. Complete trust and (or) confidence in that which we cannot perceive with the normal senses of the body can only be achieved through faith that he/she/it IS. Who, what, when, where, why, and how is all just a matter of perception. Even those who do not subscribe to religion must have faith that the ground beneath them will hold them up in order to take the next step. I know not which step to take, only that I must take another step and have faith it will hold me. Even if it does not.
My need for faith comes from my hope. I have to trust the world to keep turning. I must have complete confidence that the next day will come. Without this gnosis hope would simply disappear and we would all fall victim to entropy and chaos. Hoping for a better tomorrow comes with the faith there will be a tomorrow. Tomorrow is always getting closer and never arrives yet I have faith that with tomorrow comes more hope.
Faith
Love
an intense feeling of deep affection.
a great interest and pleasure in something.
Love is a bit of a wildcard. So many ranges of emotion are associated with this word or feeling. Love's importance will always be bound to your hope and faith. It can be such a good and positive feeling. To some, such a powerful feeling is not worth the risk of losing it. Almost like an addiction, it swells up inside the more you embrace it, then can leave an emptiness when it is taken away. From longing to lust love can inspire so many things.
So what do you love? Affection, interest, and pleasure can apply to many things in life. Of course I love those close to me and who reciprocate the feeling. I love being loved.
I love that my wife loves rocks. Such a mundane thing as rocks can spark a powerful emotion in someone. Enough for a person to create things beautiful for others to love who may not love rocks. Arrange certain rocks in a specific way to decorate or build and one's love of rocks becomes another's love of a carving, statue, building, fish pond, or fire pit. Your love of another person may inspire you to hope or have faith in them.
Have interest and pleasure in things and people. Show affection for what is important in your life. It is true that nothing lasts forever, but the more you love the easier it will be to fill the void when love is lost.
Patience.
the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
I suppose patience isn't defined as a feeling. It's more of a skill acquired through practice. I know some people are not very good at it. Sometimes I am not very good at acceptance or tolerance. I can be patient, or impatient for that matter towards anything. For a long time whether I was patient or not about things was completely bound to how I felt about them. Maybe it isn't defined as a feeling, but it sure feels like it is related to them. Especially those feelings of anger and hate.
I try to accept and tolerate things as the way they are. To a fault sometimes. Laziness can creep up as a side effect of acceptance and tolerance. This I have learned the hard way. When you have to accept and tolerate so many things that you feel very strongly about, it becomes easier to be patient. To wait instead of act.
Patience can be used together with the other four words to great effect. Acceptance and tolerance are directly related to your perception of reality. Chances are you will be more patient with your loved ones than you would with the asshole who ruined your day. Perhaps if we are patient with our hopes and faith by holding back our anger and aggression then someone else out there might return the favor and tolerate that time you were the asshole who ruined their day. Maybe that tolerance could even turn into a deep affection, who knows?
Love
Patience
Gratitude
the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
The last word might be the most important. Could this be a feeling as well? I know it's the key to happiness. Like patience, gratitude takes work. With effort and practice gratitude can help us with things like Hope, Faith, and Love.
When we are thankful for the things we have, suddenly the things we don't have are not such a bother. It can be difficult to find things to be grateful for in dire times, but this does not mean it's less important. Losing things is often what it takes for us to be grateful for what we still have. When you are grateful for the ones you love it is easier to tolerate and more difficult to be angry at them. Be grateful the day is peaceful, and so it can be.
I am grateful for a great many things. Too many to list here, yet not too many to ponder on as I awake. I try to make my first thoughts of the day thankful that I survived another day. Thankful that this reality let me experience another slice of the beauty that is in this world, even if it may be clouded by judgement and fear, hate and anger. Those things I am grateful for are brought out to the center stage so that I may Hope, have Faith, Love, and be more Patient with those things. Gratitude binds together most of the good feelings within and helps us to focus on what is most important.
Gratitude
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