Today’s Stream of Consciousness prompt is, “your favorite word.”
Just one? Then it would have to be hope. But I also like petrichor (the scent of rain on the earth), evergreen, moon, nooma ( wind/spirit/breath), stardust….. But hope is my favorite.
Hope gets us to keep going when we want to give up. If you have trouble finding faith, look for hope. Hope can lead you to faith, or at least hope can help us believe in the possibility that things are going to work out.
As we – as I get older, I think of all the times that I didn’t know how I would get through something – giving up my dog when I was 11, my boyfriend moving when I was 16, the divorce, the rebound from hell, my teenage daughter’s meltdowns, the deaths of family members. But as time passed, and I saw that I did get through all those things, I came to believe that I could get through just about anything life could throw at me. Of course there may be gnashing of teeth, wailing, whining, fist shaking, despair…. But hope grows with each challenging life event, especially when things turn out better than I could have imagined.
Can I apply this personal hope to hope for our world? That’s a little harder. Sometimes I do feel despair at the current political and environmental climate. I wonder how we humans can be so enlightened and full of goodness at times and be so violent and ignorant at others. But I cannot live without hope. Well, I suppose I could live. But I don’t want to live without hope. Hope is something I can have. We can nurture hope in ourselves.
Hope floats above the garbage and turns it into compost. Hope makes us try again tomorrow, or next week. Hope could be contagious. Wouldn’t that be something to hope for?
For more favorite words in the Stream of Consciousness, visit Linda Hill at
https://lindaghill.com/2018/06/01/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-2-18/
Here are Stream of Consciousness Rules:
1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.
2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.
3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.
4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.
5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.
6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!
7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.
8. Have fun!
(The hopeful seedling photo is from Pixabay)
June 2, 2018 at 5:19 am
Thought-provoking stream – as ever
June 2, 2018 at 9:14 am
Thank you, Derrick!
June 2, 2018 at 7:43 am
Lovely post, JoAnna! Thank you for shining rays of hope for my day!
June 2, 2018 at 9:22 am
My pleasure, Shelley! Soak up those rays!
June 2, 2018 at 8:38 am
Hope is a very good word to hold as a favorite.
June 2, 2018 at 9:33 am
Thanks, Dan. I hope you have a good weekend!
June 2, 2018 at 9:40 am
JoAnna, this is a wonderful personal reflection for hope. It’s a great word, akin to the word faith. They both offer a way for us to see through the worst of times. I hope you continue to experience the good things in life.
June 2, 2018 at 10:40 am
Thanks, Mary. I am seeing the good. I know you are, too. Keep the hope flowing! 🙂
June 2, 2018 at 10:12 am
Great post. Obi Wan you’re my only hope.
June 2, 2018 at 10:46 am
I wish I’d thought of that one! Thanks for adding it.
June 2, 2018 at 11:00 am
Yes, and this is one of my favorite things about you… if just one is chosen. lol
Your post reminded me of “A Course Of Love [ACOL]” as I am reading it now, and was reminded of it from Michael over at Embracing Forever. I suppose I was already so close to the teaching, and this is what brought me even closer to it. Anyways, just flow of consciousness response…. the course seems to have always been in my heart… and I wonder how we are all shared by it. Your post and everything is reminding me of what I am reading daily 🙂
no matter what,
❤ Thank you for being you.
June 2, 2018 at 11:18 am
Thank you, Ka, for this wonderful comment and for being you. I can feel the loving energy flowing as I read your words. ❤ ACOL is on my reading list. I'm honored to be in sync.
June 4, 2018 at 11:03 am
Yes, delightfully in sync! ❤
June 2, 2018 at 11:16 am
Petrichor! That’s a cool word…
June 2, 2018 at 1:13 pm
It is! I almost picked it as my favorite, so I had to mention it.
June 2, 2018 at 12:34 pm
thank you for gently
showing the way
of hope, dear JoAnna 🙂
June 2, 2018 at 1:14 pm
Certainly. Thank you for the affirmation. 🙂
June 2, 2018 at 3:48 pm
Life without hope would be pretty bleak indeed. Great post.
June 2, 2018 at 8:08 pm
Thank you!
June 3, 2018 at 1:24 am
Excellent post. Hope is what keeps us alive, dear.
June 3, 2018 at 8:04 pm
Thank you! It keeps us a live and makes life better.
Pingback: Today’s Stream of Consciousness prompt is, “your favorite word.” | Indira's Blog
June 3, 2018 at 2:01 am
I’m sorry, dear. I wrote my post for last Friday’s prompt. Some misunderstanding.
June 3, 2018 at 8:05 pm
I believe you got the prompt right- nice post! But you need to link it to Linda HIll’s post where she gives us the prompt every Friday. https://lindaghill.com/2018/06/01/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-june-2-18/. I hope you’ll join us again. Just go find her Stream of Consciousness prompt next Friday. 🙂
June 3, 2018 at 5:30 am
Hope keeps me going when times get tough, JoAnna. It is next to the strong word, “resilience.” Happy June to you! 🙏 🦋 Robin
June 3, 2018 at 8:29 pm
Oh, resilience is good, strong word that works well with hope. I’m thankful we’ve got both! 🙂 ❤
June 3, 2018 at 11:03 am
I love this, JoAnna! I met a stranger named Hope yesterday and it made me think of how women have names like “Hope” and “Faith.” When I started (continued…?) this spiritual journey some of my friends decided to start calling me “Faith.” I suppose there was a little good humored teasing behind it…but I only took it as a compliment!!! 🙂 When I saw this woman’s name, Hope, yesterday, I thought, “Hmmm…maybe that could be my middle name!” 😉
Sweet blessing to you, JoAnna. I hope that you are super and that this beautiful Sunday is filled with love ❤
June 3, 2018 at 8:52 pm
I love that your friends have called you “Faith.” Makes sense to me. Wouldn’t it be cool if we could take one different nicknames throughout our life? Glad you liked my post. Blessings to you, dear one. May our faith and hope join together and create something wonderful! 🙂 ❤
June 3, 2018 at 9:16 pm
I’ve no doubt that I’d exactly what we are doing 😉 Sweet Blessings, JoAnna💜
June 3, 2018 at 9:58 pm
❤
June 3, 2018 at 1:11 pm
Hope is one of my favorites, too.
June 3, 2018 at 9:08 pm
So many favorites! 🙂
June 4, 2018 at 11:53 am
And there is so much hope in people like you who spread blessings and love and stardust. I love, love, love this post. Because it means that more of us are spreading our light in a world that needs it so badly. I have to hope that our light can counteract the effects of carelessness and mindlessness – so that we all become caring and mindful. But I love all your words up there. Just this morning, after raining in the night, the word “petrichor” came to mind as I took in the scent of freshly cleaned earth…sending you hugs and wishes for an incredible week!
June 4, 2018 at 11:24 pm
I’m so glad you enjoyed this and for your understanding. Thank you so much, Cynthia. ❤ I hope your week is full of goodness and hope.
June 7, 2018 at 9:04 pm
Just reading this word instills hope. Excellent choice!
June 7, 2018 at 9:33 pm
Thank you! It even has a nice, strong sound to it. Happy to instill hope!
July 18, 2018 at 10:35 am
It’s kinda great and inspiring writing.😊
July 20, 2018 at 9:13 pm
Thank you! Your feedback is much appreciated! 🙂
July 20, 2018 at 11:54 pm
Yes, with my pleasure.😊