Faith, & Hope & Madness

The Subtle Difference Between Hope and Faith 

The inspiration for this piece came from my ongoing choice to serve others by creatively finding ways to help them look good with my talent for hair and feel good by creating divinely inspired content wherever and whenever possible. It’s my hope these efforts lead to a better day and a better life. Before I’m able to do any of it, I rely on the faith that I can. For me, hope is what I want for others and faith is the trust, the inner knowing, that my intentions and subsequent actions to enlighten, inspire, to bring joy, healing, and loving messages from Divine source energy to others, will be enough to create the shift in them. It’s like planning a wedding and hoping the marriage will work out. Hoping things will work out for me, with my intentions and goals, isn’t the same as knowing deep within that they will. Think about some of your past experiences where you hoped things would change or work out, and they didn’t versus knowing without a doubt they’d be great, and they were? I’ll be honest here, there have been times in my life where I had that certainty that things would work out well and they didn’t, and rather something different did. There were also times when I was sure, with certainty, that things would not go well, and I went along with them anyway.

A Little Bit of Whimsy Does You Good?

There’s a popular quote I’m often puzzled by: “hope for the best, plan for the worst.” I’m puzzled because it's true in many cases, and it seems people are better at planning for worst-case scenarios than good ones. I know I get stuck in assumption-land when it comes to making a decision. I have a friend who’s always saying, “It’ll all work out.” It’s a good reminder to just go with the flow and see what happens.

How many of you wake up and wonder if it’s going to be a good day or a bad one? I can remember days when I didn’t want to go to work, particularly when I worked in a small law office. On a Monday morning, there would be dictation tapes to transcribe into documents, piles of corrections to be made to others, plus an answering machine loaded with messages from clients wanting answers. Then there were days at the salon when a fussy client would be booked, and I fretted about what mood they’d be in.

So, what’s the answer? How do any of us switch from gloomy to glad in an instant, particularly when we first wake up? For me, that starts before I go to sleep. I wasn’t raised to say prayers at night, and until about 20 years ago, only said them when I needed spiritual help. I’ve learned to focus my thoughts on releasing the day and preparing for rest by saying something like:

"I am grateful for the day that I’ve had, and I gladly release the thoughts and feelings that aren’t for my highest good. Thank you, God, Spirit Guides, and Angels for leading me into deep rest and physical healing."

Usually when I wake up, those good feeling thoughts are still there, and it’s easy to focus on more good feeling thoughts. It’s also realistic to consider that for those who are in stressful jobs and tasked with managing others or handling awkward situations, customer complaints, or have people in their life who aren’t quite ready for hippy-dippy land, then this takes some doing.

What I’ve noticed is that it’s typically other people who aren’t ready for the changes we’re making in our life. The best suggestion I can offer here is to be patient with this new way of being and remember the process is a practice.

I’m a huge fan of rewarding myself for accomplishments. For me, that looks like planning something to reward myself, usually something fun and whimsical. Something that stretches my creative talent, that stretches my resistance, and more importantly, allows me to feel vulnerable. There are many of us out there who resist changes, resist being creative, and resist stepping out of our comfort zone because we’re fearful and overly concerned about what other people might think.

If this is you, and you believe that to do something outrageous or out of character might be too much, then for you, I encourage you to think of something in your past, particularly when you were a child, that made you laugh. Something silly that nobody else would find funny. I remember being in the choirboy at our local church when I was around 10 or 11. One Sunday, during Reverend Squarie’s sermon, a bumblebee got tangled up in the tulle on Dorothy Damler’s hat. It was a lavender-colored felt hat, with small flowers and tulle. The church was like an echo chamber, so the buzzing of the bee trying its best to escape, and the uneasy demeanor of Ms. Damler trying to compose herself, while aware that she was the source of the commotion, was too funny to resist, causing myself and several members of the choir to start giggling.

A more recent story of raucous laughter was when the buttons on my waistcoat got tangled up with beading thread during a jewelry class, and the rather large teacher had a challenging time unraveling the thread so we could continue with class.

My point being, that focusing thoughts on something truly amusing or funny, or any piece of music that creates a mental distraction, can be a great way to shift your mood and outlook.

In closing, I want you to remember these three things to keep you on track with Faith and Hope:

Reward Yourself for keeping positive thoughts.

Remember something funny to change the negative thoughts

Repeat as often as you need to, until this becomes a habit.

As we navigate the delicate balance between hope and faith, let us remember these three pillars: rewarding ourselves for maintaining positivity, invoking moments of levity to counter negativity, and persisting in these practices until they become second nature. Through these guiding principles, we can cultivate a mindset of resilience and optimism, transcending challenges with grace.

For those interested in delving deeper into my journey, spirituality services, and potential collaborations, I invite you to explore my website at https://www.kevincross.com/. Together, let us embark on a journey of growth, enlightenment, and mutual empowerment.