Hope is the limitless belief ...

Last week I was privileged to attend a consultation for the Commonwealth People’s Forum which is a parallel event to be held in Perth at the time of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in October. Every two years, the People’s Forum brings together hundreds of non-governmental groups from the association’s 54 member countries to seek agreement and action on key issues facing Commonwealth people.

During the consultation we covered subjects as diverse as health and wellbeing, environmental issues, poverty, human rights, cultural diversity, and governance and heard some inspiring presentations as well as working in small groups to develop action statements that could go to the larger Commonwealth People’s Forum in October.

One of the things that impressed me about this activity was the passion that was evident from people who are not satisfied with a society where mental illness is growing; people’s human rights are being overlooked; animal and plant species are dying out; indigenous culture is being lost; and people continue to live in poverty. I personally find it a joy to associate with people who are committed to bring hope to a world where we can so easily fall prey to hopelessness.

On my wall is the following statement which does not bear the name of an author, but was written to address the hope that comes when a person with a mental illness begins the journey of recovery, but can be adapted to many circumstances:

Hope is the limitless belief that things do not have to be remain the same and that change can and does happen. It is about concentrating on strengths rather than weaknesses, focussing on the future rather than the past and celebrating small successes rather than insisting on rapid change. Hope fuels the recovery process through expanding the sphere of possibility, colouring life perceptions and sustaining individuals even during periods of relapse.