DESPAIR IS NOT A STRATEGY . . . 15 PRINCIPLES OF HOPE (by Rebecca Solnit)

With Favorite QUOTES From Rev. Pam  ~ Sundays, March 12 & 19, 2023

1. Hope can co-exist with other feelings. I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle . . . I just wish He didn’t trust me so much. (Mother Teresa) 

2. People have power no matter how certain, impossible or predetermined a situation may seem. Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.  (St. Francis of Assisi) 

3. There is a difference between our actions being worthless and our actions not accomplishing what we hoped they would. Pray and move your feet. (Quakers) 

4. Success does not always correlate with approval. Don’t be deterred or demoralized by criticism. How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.  (Anne Frank) 

5. We don’t need to persuade our most ardent opponents for change to happen. The pure love of one soul can offset the hatred of millions.  (Mahatma Gandhi) 

6. Change is rarely straightforward. Logic is a process by which you arrive at the wrong conclusion with confidence. (Alan Cohen) 

7. It’s always too soon to go home and too soon to calculate the effect. A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking. (Stephen Wright) 

8. Small actions matter. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies. (Mother Teresa)  

9. We can change the world because we have, many times before. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. (Margaret Mead) 

10. Hope is a basis, not a substitute, for action.  Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between. (Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings) 

11. If you embody what you aspire to then you have already succeeded.  The winds of grace are blowing all the time.  We have only to raise our sails. (Anonymous) 

12. Total victory is not the goal. We mustn’t be perfectionists.  This life is a test!  It is only a test!  If this had been a real life, you would have received further instructions as to where to go and what to do.  (Anonymous) 

13. If you’re losing hope, do more before giving up. There’s a relationship between engagement and hope, and between disengagement and despair.   If you knew who walked beside you on the path that you have chosen . . . fear would be impossible.  (A Course in Miracles) 

14. Recognize and account for our mind’s Negativity Bias . . . our tendency to weigh negative things more heavily than positive things. Seek the positive.  It’s not denial.  I’m just selective about the reality I accept.  (Calvin & Hobbes) 

15. We stand on the shoulders of giants. Remembers others have gone before us, showing us the way. We are braver and wiser because they existed, those strong women and strong men… We are who we are because they were who they were. It’s wise to know where you come from, who called your name. (Maya Angelou)