For the month of April we are celebrating the character strength of hope. VIA describes hope this way; “If Hope is your top strength you expect the best in the future, and you work to achieve it. You believe that the future is something that you can control.Hope falls under the virtue category of Transcendence. Transcendence describes strengths that provide a broad sense of connection to something higher in meaning and purpose than ourselves.”
Today is National Day of Hope. The National Day of Hope was founded by the NPO Childhelp as a focus point for the National Child Abuse Prevention Month of April. Legislated by an act of Congress in 2000.
I can’t think about hope without tying it to spirituality and I can’t think about spirituality without tying it to hope. Until I became a spiritual person I didn’t have much hope in my life. The hopelessness stemmed from childhood abuse, neglect and trauma. The abuse I went through as a child sent a message of devaluation that I internalized and carried into adulthood. It also sent a message that I didn’t matter and created a mindset that was founded in lies.
Gaining the spiritual side gave me hope that was unexplainable. Having struggled with depression and anxiety for most of my life it was a pretty miraculous thing to be suddenly filled with hope once spirituality rose to the surface. I suddenly had a reason to believe that there was something better intended for my life. I suddenly had hope in otherwise hopeless situations. Hope gave me a leg up to start defeating those mindsets, tearing down those walls and realizing the value I had in the world. Without my strength of spirituality, I never would have gained this new hope.
“Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” -Holy Bible
I now operate out of a place of faith. Out of a place of hope. Because I have seen things change when operating from that space. It wasn’t easy and it did take quite a bit of mindful thought to “flip the switch” and start going with hope instead of despair. But I did it. And if I can do it, so can you!
Join us as we take the month of April to celebrate the strength of Hope!
For more information on VIA Institute on Character or to take the free survey visit: http://www.viacharacter.org
