This is the answer: Hope

Jane Goodall with Motambo, an orphan at the JGI Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center. Image source: THE JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE

"The greatest danger to our future is apathy" - Dr Jane Goodall

I don't know about you, but for me, the last 6 weeks, has seen my emotions running all over the shop. The ups and downs of it all remind me of when I go on a hiking trip (well, perhaps a hiking trip that someone's forced upon me).

And if you've ever gone hiking before, you know that is no walk in the park. It's supposed to be tough, painful and challenging. 

I say it's not real hiking unless you think to yourself "Why did I decide to hike again? What's wrong with meee!".

The hike is hours-long, with steep inclines and nature's little obstacles you need to jump over. When you feel yourself waning you must drum yourself up with good affirmations to keep your mental and physical endurance in check to stop yourself from giving up.

You experience moments of struggle. You experience moments of clarity in between deep breaths of crisp fresh air filled with scents of bark, leaves and dirt. 

And when you finally reach the top, observing the scenery around you...the feeling of pure elation hits you.

You feel proud. You feel a touch of enlightenment even. You remember why you decided to go hiking. 

This world - this Universe - is full of wonder.

Think about the way the trees know how to turn carbon dioxide into oxygen. How there is a whole intelligent ecosystem of living organisms like insects, birds, animals that manage to work itself out. 

How the way the Earth knows when it needs some timeout to heal. 

In all of this lies hope.

And I didn't realise the gravity of just how important hope is until now. 

My realisation came to me a couple of days ago, whilst listening to a podcast episode where Dr.Jane Goodall was the guest. The emotion hit me from nowhere, my eyes welled up as she spoke about her life, her mission and how she became an icon of hope.

I knew right then that hope is the answer in all of this.

"All of this" meaning... 

When the world feels like it is completely fucked and that all is lost. Or when you start to believe that there is more suffering than good. Or when you feel humankind has lost its kindness. 

And when you feel that nothing you do can possibly make a difference. 

This isn't the time to give up. Don't throw in the towel and let apathy take over.

This is the time to search for hope. To create hope. To bring hope to others.

For me, the last 6 weeks has been riddled with emotions from fear, grief, helplessness and deep sorrow. After hours, days of crying, reading, meditating, therapy, chats with friends, sitting with my thoughts. I've now arrived at a resting spot at the bottom of the next incline, feeling that I've got my strength back.

That strength is underpinned by hope.

Hope that the future can and will be brighter than ever before.

Though, I know that this can't happen on its own. It takes work. It takes discipline. It takes pushing through the obstacles and it takes climbing of those thigh-burning steep inclines. 

It takes uncomfortable self-exploration to figure out what difference it is that you want to make. 

It takes courage to share with others what difference you want to make. 

It takes facing up to your fears - failure, rejection, humiliation, not being good enough, making mistakes.

It's easy to give up before you get started. It's easy to say no to that hike - there are boundless excuses to fall upon.

Think about it, think about the feeling of elation and the connection you'll feel to yourself afterwards. 

It'll be worth it. Every hike has always been worth it. ⛰

Image Source: National Geographic

“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

― Dr Jane Goodall

I'm committed to going on this journey and would love for any of you that resonate with this to join-with! 

Who's in on making the future a brighter one? 🙋‍♀️

Side note, being at home has actually made it a tad easier to procrastinate so I've been studying and uncovering ways to stop with my incessant need to empty the dishwasher, put another load of washing on and mindlessly scroll through Instagram. 

Instead, I want to experience more of that flow state of mind where I become so immersed in an activity or task that it seems effortless what I'm doing. I feel like I'm the only person on this Earth. I come out feeling incredible, creative and productive.

I've figured it out! It's a short 60 min accountability group session held virtually that drives you straight into flow state. I've been trialling them over the last couple weeks and my gawd do they work! To join these weekly sessions join the League online!

Stay Peachy!

Sheryl Thai, CEO
League of Extraordinary Women