Hold onto the signs of hope all around you

There’s a great quote by global spiritual leader, poet, and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh that says:

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”

I’ve been thinking lately about hope, mostly for two main reasons:

1. It’s the start of a new year, which always feels like a hopeful new beginning, and
2. Signs of hope seem to be popping up everywhere

We’ve got a COVID vaccine that’s slowly making its way into the world, protecting those who need it most…

We have new leadership who promises to be more inclusive and unifying than what we’ve seen in recent years…

And we’ve witnessed the coming together of people, groups, and organizations to form movements for positive change.

As crazy as our lives (and the world) have been for roughly the last 12 months, there really are signs of hope to hang onto right now. It’s these signs of hope that can help us continue to bear our hardships of today and give us something positive to hold onto as we move through yet another potentially crazy year.

For me personally, I’m hopeful (and extremely excited) about the NBA G-League restarting play. Sure, we’ll have a much shorter season, but we WILL have a season, and I’m choosing to focus my attention on all the good that will do…for our players, for our staff, and for the fans and community, too. It will have been almost a year since we were last on the court, and the promise of being back in action again — in whatever limited way we can safely pull it off — is something to be optimistic and grateful about.

I’m also hopeful for what this new year may hold for my family, too — that we may be able to all get together again, see our extended family in person, and — after nearly a year — give my mom a hug.

And I’m also hopeful for all of the advocacy in civic and social issues we are seeing, as people continue to stand for what they believe in and mobilize for justice and equality. I am particularly inspired by the actions of the WNBA players who have a long history of advocating for equal rights. The Atlanta Dream in particular played an important role in the GA Senate race. It’s exciting to see the broader impact that athletes — and sports in general — are having on the world.

I know that the world is far from back to normal and — as always — there remains a ton of work to do, but I think it’s so important that we keep our minds on hope, instead of the upheaval we’re in right now.

It’s up to us to look for that hope, to find it, and to persistently hold onto it.

So…what signs of hope do you see in your life — whether it’s in your work, your relationships, your community, or something else — that you can hold onto as we go through another uncertain year?

What signs of hope might you be able to serve for your neighbors, your friends, or your family in return?

When we identify what we’re hopeful for — and the signs of hope that we can already clearly see — we can live each day as Thich Nhat Hanh says, with the belief that tomorrow will be better.

Because it’s really that belief — and that belief alone — that will make sure that it is.