PracticalActs.org

I believe that we are here to serve others, starting with just one other person. To do so, of course, we need to look after ourselves, but if we become too self focused then humanity doesn’t win and neither does the individual. On the tough days – when I let the problems in my day, in our world, and in individualism gone to far get to me – I remember to refocus on a small practical action that can help someone else, I try to learn something new, and I build back hope from there. I also use a favourite prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.

Gandi famously said:

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.”

“When every hope is gone, ‘when helpers fail and comforts flee,’ I find that help arrives somehow, from I know not where. Supplication, worship, prayer are no superstition; they are acts more real than the acts of eating, drinking, sitting or walking. It is no exaggeration to say that they alone are real, all else is unreal.”

And these great quotes can help too:

• Once you choose hope, anything’s possible. Christopher Reeve Click to tweet
• We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. Martin Luther King Jr Click to tweet
• Everything that is done in this world is done by hope. Martin Luther Click to tweet
• I dwell in possibility. Emily Dickinson Click to tweet
• May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. Nelson Mandela Click to tweet
• It is because of hope that you suffer. It is through hope that you’ll change things. Maxime Lagacé Click to tweet
• If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find compensation in every disappointment. Henry David Thoreau Click to tweet
• Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. Desmond Tutu Click to tweet
• Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet. Aristotle Click to tweet
• There is some good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for. J.R.R. Tolkien Click to tweet

I hope that you can find your small practical action for one other person and build hope from it.

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Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.