Three Practices To Turn You Into An Agent Of Hope

Hope begins when we keep three things open in our lives: our eyes, our hearts, and our time. Here are a few tips on how to get started.

Open your heart

People in despair are rarely hungry for advice, but they are almost always hungry for love, compassion, and care. The first step to becoming an agent of hope is starting from a place of real concern. Giving someone hope begins with having hope for them.

Open your eyes

The next step in the process is to consciously keep your eyes open. Be vigilant for the shadows of despair. You never know whom you might encounter who is silently suffering without hope. As you enter a room or a building say a quick prayer for eyes to see and take note of what you pick up.

Open your time

The third key thing is to keep your time open. There are few gifts as precious as time. Our time is a nonrenewable resource and so it is a true gift when we can give it to someone. Time is also an essential part of helping give others hope. Simply taking the time to be with someone in pain can work wonders. Offering your full attention and being totally present can often let in enough life by itself to help break a cycle of despair. True agents of hope build margin into their days so that when the opportunity to help someone in need presents itself, they are ready. As you plan your days, try to work in as much flexibility as you can. Despair doesn’t follow a schedule and so we need to be ready to change our plans if we’re going to be serious in combating it.