Hope is harder for the human brain

Nov 11, 2020

The day the U.S. election was called I was determined to savor my joy!  

The day after, I wrote this on Facebook:

Torn between the rush of this new beginning–wanting to clean my dirty floors! Organize office! Start campaigning in Georgia!–and wanting to lie on the floor without moving an inch for the next week. How about you?

And now, a few days later?

I find my joy and hope is slightly grayed, threaded with dread. 

My nervous system is saying, “Are you sure this is going to be alright? How can you be sure?”

Hope is harder for the human brain to believe than worry and fear. 

I’m going to be bold and declare: it’s safe to hope. To feel joy.

I’ll add, I believe it’s imperative. We cannot affect change if we are exhausted by dread and worry.

If it feels good, join me in giving yourself permission to believe it’s all going to be okay and to honor what you need to rest and heal.

You can’t stay on red alert, scanning the perimeter, waiting for the next shoe to drop.

And if you can’t yet relax or rest, that’s okay. May it come with time. 

Here are a couple of prompts from my soon-to-be-released Get You Bother On guided journal that might help you name what you need. 

Without _________________, I lose a connection to myself and today I could give myself…

The desires I have ignored more than once lately __________ and maybe today is the day to listen to one of these desires.

When I refuse to judge myself for what I desire, I find I want…   And I don’t want…

Hope is harder for the human brain than worry and fear. Rest and listening to ourselves helps us remember it’s good to hope. 


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