Hopelessness, Let's End That

Hopelessness and loneliness are two of the worst feelings in the world. Being broke, pressed for time, or even fearful of something is not as harsh as the feeling of hopelessness.

Could it be that you feel hopeless because you want what someone else has, and you feel like you will never get it?

Is it because you are coveting what others have so much, that you cannot see yourself getting what you want?

Could it be that if you were to practice gratitude that you could feel more hopeful? Attitude is certainly one of the most powerful driving forces behind everything we do, and our choices are what impact our life every single day.

Starve Hopelessness with Gratitude 

It has been said that an attitude of gratitude can fix anything, in fact, if you try it you will find that it starves hopelessness out. I recently lost another friend to suicide, and I believe that keeping a gratitude journal would have saved his life. WHY? 

In a time of fear and believing that he had no place to go, upon reviewing that journal he would read over the long list of people that loved him, knowing at any time he could have made a phone call and any of those friends would have said, "Come stay with me friend, I've got room." 

It's so hard in those tough moments when we believe things are slipping away, to stop and take a breath, and see that there is some good in that situation, and to believe that there is a way out. Although many of us know God is near, and we feel Him, not everyone does. It should also be undertood that in our humanness,  we don't feel that He is near, and we don't see that He is in working in all situations. 

Those of us that do need to pray for those that don't, and we need to make sure that others see the light in us when they don't have the strength to stand. Is there someone right now that you can be a light for? Right now, is there someone that you can stop and pray for as you read this? 

I am sure that all of us have many on our list that we know we can help, and there may be many still that  we don't think need our help, but we should be mindful of what to look for to ensure that we are always reaching out to others in need. 

What Hopelessness Looks Like 

What can you look for if you aren't sure if someone close to you is experience hopelessness or even loneliness? 

• Stating that things will NEVER get better 
• Feeling that there are NO solutions to their problems
• Statements like, "I will NEVER be happy again"
• Statesments like, "I will NEVER get over what happened"
• Statements like "I don't see things ever improving"
• When people appear to just give up 
• When people state that they feel hopeless 

There are so many folks, and these are NOT to be taken lightly. Even if you don't tend to get emotionally involved with the problems of others, just share a word of encouragement, and at least direct people to someone that can help them. 

Remember, they are human beings, and there may be a time in your life where you need someone to do that for you, when you least expect it. Let's starve out hopelessness and live courageously!