Chapter 8 of the new book
I'm working on is entitled HOPE. I had just started writing it when a
friend came to visit. He sat down on the chair in front of my
computer while I took a rest from sitting and got comfortable on my
bed. Straight away we began a conversation about the miserable state
of the world. Corruption, pollution, ignorance – all the usual
suspects.
At some point my friend
sighed and stared at the computer screen.
“Hope?”, he wondered,
as he read the headline of the page. “No, there ain't no hope.”
I looked at him and could
see the indifference and emptiness in his eyes. Deep and dark despair
that covered up even the brightest sunlight. Everyone who has felt
similar before knows that this kind of hopelessness is not fun at
all. A feeling that everything will get worse, that there's nothing
good to come. A bit like giving up on the future.
Some days are just like
that and probably it's best to simply accept them as they are.
However, the dangerous thing is to feed the dark despair and thus
staying in a downward spiral. The human being is quite good at this
type of self-torture, diving head first into one's own misery. And
while we're busy painting everything black we forget that we always
have a choice...
Here's an example of my
own life: Sometimes I also feel disillusioned with all the greed,
poison and exploitation in the world. Then I suddenly remember that I
need to buy some food and without giving it any further consideration
I head to the big supermarket. And guess what? After twenty minutes
in the shopping factory I feel even worse! It's as if my inner
darkness had been looking for a match in the outside world.
There are other times when
I choose a different experience. Instead of feeding the darkness, I
take a deep breath and consciously refuse to play this destructive
game. So instead of going to the big supermarket I head to a small
organic shop. And when I come out of there, the world looks much
brighter again. Always! I can't remember a single time that I've left
a small organic shop feeling depressed. It just doesn't happen –
for darkness can't survive in light.
Long story short: To feel
hopeful you have to help creating what you are hoping for. You want
more natural food? Buy it. You want fairness? Support those who are
fair. You want less pollution? Don't produce so much. You want
generosity? Share what you have. You want peace in the world? Become
peaceful yourself.
