Can you hope without grasping? Can you know what you want without needing to have it? Can you let your hopes lift you up rather than tie you down? Can you see that hope should be a positive? Whether your hope arrives or not, the lift that comes with it is leading you to a better place.

Hope may be the most important thing we have as humans. It allows us to persevere, to dream, to create, to do all manner of things that require us to struggle and survive. But there’s a downside to hope. There’s the comparison of what we hope for with what we have. Hope keeps us going but, if we are not careful, it can be the flip side of disappointment and of comparing everything to the ideal.

Hope should make us more content, not less. It should allow us to accept what is while we pursue what could be. It should be a force for moving toward rather than moving away. For me, it should be but sometimes it is not. Sometimes it is pulling me down a rabbit hole and distracting me from this day with dreams of some day. And then the energy of hope is holding me down rather than lifting me up.

As you read this I wonder:

* What is the one thing you most hope for today?

* Can you accept a future in which that hope is never realized?

* Can you imagine it might be better than you even hoped?

We should not underestimate the power of hope but we also should not give it power over us and our path. As you start the week, can you use hope to move you toward tomorrow and to recognize the wonder of today?

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What do you do when the end of the story seems to change? How do you adapt to a new ending, a new path? Will you fight your way back to the path you imagined? Will you accept what you see laid out in front of you? Or can you suspend expectation and walk each path as if it is the path and never feel the change?

I’ve told you before that one of my challenges is not becoming overly focused on the end of the story, the end of the path, the final destination. We live a life where, as circumstances change, so do the possibilities in front of us. But some of those possibilities are dear to us and when they disappear or become less likely, there is a loss.

The question is how we respond to that loss. Earlier in my life, I responded by fighting my way back, by looking for another way to achieve the same end state. This involved a lot of analysis and effort, typically only to have circumstances change again. And while there genuinely are ends worth fighting for, most of those ends for me are more about who is in my life than how it goes.

As you read this I wonder:

* How has your story changed in the last day, the last week, the last month?

* How committed are you to how it ends?

* What can you do to commit to less but fight for the smaller pieces that matter?

I’m committed to fighting to keep love alive in my soul through those few people who magnify it for me. I’m committed to holding those people close. But that opens up all kinds of paths and all kinds of ends. As we end the week, can you examine your commitments and be sure they are the ones you want?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aconstantbecoming.substack.com

Can you accept the quiet moments? Can you avoid filling the silence with fear, with hope, with plans? Can you be willing to be, without judgment, without rushing? Can what is be enough without needing to know what's next?

One of my very good friends lives a life filled with noise and activity. She is constantly moving from place to place and thing to thing with never a moment for quiet. She longs for the quiet moments. At a different time in life where I live now, the quiet moments are more frequent. And confronting them can be uncomfortable.

It’s hard to sit with nothing. There are whole schools of thought on the power of doing this but they are consistent in noting it is challenging. As humans, we abhor a vacuum in our minds. We want to fill it with something, with a plan, with a fear, with what’s next. The restless mind moves. But there is a real power in quieting that motion and in finding a way to sit, even if for a second, with what is, without moving to what will be or could be.

As you read this I wonder:

* When was the last time you truly sat in silence?

* What did it feel like when you were there? How long did it take you to move on?

* The next time it comes, can you sit there a little bit longer?

Humans are I think restless by their nature. We are creatures, at least while awake, of constant motion. Part of the reason sleep matters is we calm, but can we seek the ability to calm in moments of wakefulness and feel the renewal that comes?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aconstantbecoming.substack.com

What if the universe intends for you to be a lighthouse, shining brightly but where the ships always pass on and leave you behind? Can you embrace that role or will you dim your light because you prefer another task? Shine on in peace and have hope.

I remember writing this intention right around the time I wrote the story Hank and the Lighthouse that you can find here in the archives. And I remember distinctly where my head was, that the light wasn’t appreciated, that it was valued but not loved. And today, when I read this, I feel it differently. While the light can be seen as passive, it’s not. It needs a direction, an intensity, a focus. And each time the light shifts, the world it illuminates or does not shifts as well.

So, in a way, the light from the lighthouse is constantly dimming and brightening as it sweeps around. Yes, there is always choice to dim your light permanently or to take it to another place entirely. But I’m no longer sure that we get to choose whether we are a lighthouse, but rather we choose where and how intensely we choose to shine.

As you read this I wonder:

* For whom are you shining most brightly today?

* What joy do you take from the illumination that you provide?

* How do you assess what difference you make by shining?

We don’t really have a choice as to whether we shine. We do have a choice how we greet ourselves as we do it. As you begin the week, can you shine forth knowing you are making a difference even in the moments when it’s hard to see it?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aconstantbecoming.substack.com

Do you need to know where the path is going to take the next step? Do you need to know the why in order to accept? Can you look at what is, know it is there for a reason, and have faith in what is to come?

This reflects the other side of waiting. The side where you aren’t waiting for something but simply waiting. I think we live in this state a lot more than we sometimes believe. Sometimes we won’t move until we are sure where we are going. And that results not in anticipation but in stasis.

I don’t claim to know anything about the nature of time, but I do think I’ve learned something about the nature of causality. It’s not linear. I cannot count the hours I’ve spent in plotting out the steps. Imagining what will happen and what I will do and what will happen after and so on. But, as I have the chance to look back, so many things have worked out for me, not because I’ve managed the steps but in spite of that.

As you read this I wonder:

* Are you moving forward today or are you waiting to decide where to go?

* Can you be willing to surrender how you are going to get there without giving up on the outcome?

* Can you spend more time understanding what today has to give you than you do plotting what’s next?

There’s nothing easy about the path of moving through life, and yet, in each day’s decisions, we have so many choices: whether we act, what we do, what we learn, who we affect. As we close out the week, can you be more willing to be here for this now?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aconstantbecoming.substack.com

Can you avoid giving in to anticipation? Can you be sure of your strength? Can you sit in the discomfort of now even when joy and comfort are on the horizon? Can you seek to learn today’s lessons before tomorrow’s?

One of the watch outs for me for the things I want most is when it’s nearly time. I’m pretty good when things are far in the future or when there are major barriers that must be overcome. I can look at those things and wait quietly, maybe not peacefully but quietly.

But the closer the outcome comes, the more my patience recedes. When it is just on the horizon, the urge to hurry it up becomes almost impossible to resist. And in that, I think is our greatest risk. We can get out of order or, even worse, fail to learn the lessons available to us along the way. When I fixate on one thing in the future, I tend to ignore the things that are here and now. And those things have joy to bring me, lessons to teach me, and opportunities to make the world sing.

As you read this I wonder:

* Can you not give what is just out of reach more time and attention than it deserves?

* Can you see today’s lessons and opportunities clearly even when tomorrow’s are more interesting?

* Can you be sure that tomorrow’s joy is there even if you take time to witness today?

It is truly interesting to me how anticipation moves in my soul. The closer something becomes, the harder it is to wait. But waiting is everything. Because without it, we lose today in our focus on tomorrow. Can you simply allow today to be and to teach you before you move on?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aconstantbecoming.substack.com

Can you take stock of this moment? Can it be ok? Can it be enough? Can you recognize that the more you want and believe in is coming to you, but in its way and in its time? Can you wait with peace and acceptance?

Patience is a virtue, so it is said. But it’s not a virtue that rests easily with me. I’m capable of stillness, of that soft lack of focus where nothing is vital in the moment. However, once I focus on something, I tend to lose patience. I may not want it now but I want to do something to bring it closer. And the more important it is to me, the more I have the urge to act.

But sometimes I think the action is simply my way of distracting me from the fact that the thing I want has not yet arrived. Because most of the time, my actions don’t bring the future to me faster. Most of the time, the future is going to come when it comes.

As you read this I wonder:

* What is one thing you truly want so much that it cannot get here fast enough?

* What is your coping strategy for patience?

* How do you find peace in the time between the desire and the fulfillment?

As I continue to evolve, I am learning to accept my desire to act. I am coming to believe that acting is perhaps my way of showing patience, my way of finding peace while I wait for what is to come. And, as long as I don’t judge my actions by their impact, they truly can help me wait. As you start this week, can you look at something you truly want and find a way to let it come to you when it is ready?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aconstantbecoming.substack.com

When you are simply struggling to keep going, can you realize what your smallest effort can make happen? Can you see what your mere presence can inspire? Can you avoid comparing yourself to your best and simply have faith in what today can be? Can you keep moving forward, knowing that today and every day, you can and will make a difference?

We all have those days when we want to stay in bed. And we all have those days when we want to be left to wallow in whatever is holding us back. And yet, cutting ourselves off from the world subtracts from it. And, far too often, we reduce our exposure because we don’t think we’re ready to be “at our best.”

But where it is written that the world requires our best? Indeed, how sure can we be that what we perceive as our best is what the universe or any creature in it needs this day? Showing up for me is not about knowing how well I’m going to do, it’s about having a little bit of faith that by being there, I matter, even if I don’t matter as much as I might think I could.

As you read this I wonder:

* What keeps you going when things get hard?

* Can you be less certain that you know what is best?

* Can you be more grounded in the faith that the opportunity is available than the concern over how you will meet it?

It’s easy to say “not now.” It’s far harder to answer,“then when?” As we close out the week, can you make today “some other time,” the time when you decide to be present, to offer yourself and to act?

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aconstantbecoming.substack.com

Can you hang on to the moment when you feel things click, that moment when you know you are learning, growing, building? Can you remember the feeling of certainty, not of accomplishment but of progress? Can you use that to build your confidence in your path and your willingness to take the next step?

There are moments for all of us when we feel we really nailed it. Some of those are actions or accomplishments. Others are simply the day to day moments where we say something that someone needed to hear or we provide a perspective that allows someone to see a path forward for themselves. Those moments are magical.

There’s a wonder in the unlock, whether it’s all in your mind or with another. But the power of the unlock is not only what you do but how it is received. The power isn’t only in the key but in how it fits the lock. And when you find that magic, it can sustain you, give you more confidence to try again, and bring you forward from moments where you didn’t even know you were stuck.

As you read this I wonder:

* When was the last time someone made it click for you? Did you call it out?

* What can you do today to bring that opportunity for connection?

* Can the successes of the past bring you more confidence to try again?

The fear of having something you say with intent land with a thud is real. But failing to say it lands with silence. And there’s more power in the sound, whether it’s a thud or a click. So today, can you be willing to say it, to hear it, and to look for the magic.

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Will you take stock today of your progress? Can you relive the truths you told, the fears you resisted, the warmth you created, the love you showed? No you weren't perfect but on those days when you made the world better, admit it to yourself and get ready to do it again tomorrow.

Sometimes I find myself always looking ahead and trying to see what is next. There’s obviously value in looking where you are going but, if that’s the only thing we do, we’re likely to miss something important. So much of what changes the world are the small things that are done each and every day. They often pass without remark but they matter or so much.

One of the things I’m trying to do a better job of is acknowledging the small things in my day to day. Letting myself feel good for bringing a smile to someone’s face, making them laugh, or helping them see the world in a new way. I don’t want to overstate how much those things matter, but the risk of missing it is far higher.

As you read this, I wonder:

* What is one small thing you did yesterday that mattered to someone else?

* What chances do you have today to change the world, albeit marginally?

* How do you make sure that you notice, even when nobody else calls it out?

We have more impact on the people around us and indeed the whole world than we know. As you start the week, can you be a little more sure that the small changes add up, and that the sum of all those little things is actually more likely to shape the world than the big things we worry about every day.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit aconstantbecoming.substack.com