“Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one of them to stay”. Maya Angelou.

As I write this at Easter, it’s a perfect time to talk about Hope.

When we hold hope in our hearts, it’s like keeping a guest room ready for any friend or relative that wants to come and stay. We are holding a space which is always there for our son or daughter to step back into when they are ready to seek help and begin their journey of Recovery. And remember – that journey may need to ‘start over’ several times before they finally commit and stay on their path of recovery. Yes – that can be frustrating for us as their parents, and it can be frightening to see them relapse.

But when your daughter was a toddler, did you expect her to walk a mile as soon as she tottered a few steps towards you as you held your arms out towards her? Well – this is the same sort of game. OK, so the stakes are different and you’re not dealing with a toddler going through a much-anticipated and cherished stage of development. But here’s the thing. If you can take what you need from this analogy – it might just help. As we know, addicts often behave like toddlers throwing tantrums.

Hope soothes us. It awaits us every morning as we wake up. And if other emotions get thrown at us by our monkey-minds, we do have a choice. We can change our state of mind by turning towards Hope. You can invite Hope in – like Maya Angelou said. Let it occupy the ‘spare room’ in the house of your Spirit. That affects not just your own energy, but the energy of the whole family; and it leaves a space for your son or daughter to step into. There may be times or days when you are the only one in the family who is keeping Hope alive. I encourage you to think of that as a privilege.

Hope has enormous power. When we hold Hope in our hearts and set the intention that it will become a life-changing force for us – the Universe listens.

Stack the cards in your favour. Make Hope a real Force in your life.