For several years, I’ve followed a great Oklahoman out of Tulsa, Dr Chan Hellman, PhD. His work as the founding director of the Hope Research Center on the Science of Hope is powerful and has proved what grandmothers everywhere have always known. Living life centered on hope provides pathways to well-being for all ages.
In Oklahoma City alone, there are 370,000 in the 50+ age category. What if all of us believed the future could be better than today and that each of us has the power to make that happen? Hope changes everything.
The culture today, fed by the media, shouts at us that glaciers are melting and children are being slaughtered. We hear that division and hatred are running rampant. Some days, it feels like the world is approaching the cliff of total despair.
H-O-P-E is the antidote for giving up. It is one of the most powerful and essential human mindsets and is possible to reach even when it feels out of reach. Dr Hellman says, “We know hope can be taught; we know it can be nurtured. It’s not something you either have or don’t have.” This means I have a choice whether or not to be hopeful.
It seems to me that mature adults my age are the logical ones to LEAD THE WAY of hope for the decades of those who follow. I have a responsibility to carefully monitor what I read, see, and hear. The input from my senses determines my mindset.
I have a responsibility to model a life of hope. I believe I can make a difference.
Do you?