Finding Hope

Let's start by settling in with a comfortable posture, which could be sitting, lying down or standing. If it feels okay to do so, you can close your eyes. And we'll take one deep breath together to further settle in. In through the nose. And slowly out through the mouth.

Inviting the jaw to relax. Let the shoulders be at ease. And the hands and the belly can be soft. Letting the breath settle back into its natural rhythm. And giving yourself the permission to be here.

To not have to fix everything in this moment and to not need to get someplace else right now. And to acknowledge that in the context of this meditation, where we're looking at, what can we control, what can we influence, the act of not doing anything is also a choice. It's also a response. So being still amid the chaos, or training yourself to have a quality of peace, of grounded-ness, even when you don't know what the next step is, that is a choice. That is an assertion of some form of control.

Even if it's letting go of control, you're exercising your autonomy, your ability to relate differently to the moment at hand. So as you ground yourself in this moment, see if you can feel that sense of empowerment. You're choosing to show up differently. So let's take this meditation now into a practical reflection on where you're at in your life. As you consider what's going on for you, the uncertain or difficult times, notice if there is a sense of helplessness or even just a sense of being really overwhelmed with the magnitude of what's going on for you.

And all I want you to ask yourself is, what is one step I can take in a positive direction? With everything going on, what is one thing I can do? Just notice what arises. Once you have that one thing, imagine yourself actually doing it. And see what that feels like, even in just your imagination. And then just make an internal commitment to yourself to take this one action today, or some point in the near future. We'll take one more deep breath together.

In through the nose. And out through the mouth. When you're ready, you can open your eyes. Great job. So in this meditation, we got more familiar with feeling empowered in the face of uncertainty, which cultivates a sense of hope.

And by choosing one thing, we can do one action, we can take, we're activating different parts of the brain specifically responsible for helping us feel a little more energized and not so helpless. So do try to follow through with the thing you imagined here and see what it feels like to do that in real time. These are important steps to developing an actual resilience in the face of uncertainty. So thank you for your practice. As always, take care.