Spreading the Love
"I think hope means trusting that no matter what is happening around us, there is a brighter future ahead."

Lately, I’ve been thinking about us. About you, and me, and the world we are living in today. I’ve been thinking about how sad the state of the world is, and how it needs to change; how we, as people have to rise up, above all of the noise we hear in today’s world. Going into the future, our survival will depend on being positive, happy, creative, kind people – not the melancholic people I feel like we've become.
I think it’s pretty normal to be a negative person in today’s world – just watch the news for 5 minutes, or if you’re really daring, try having a conversation with your friend about politics. That’ll really getcha frustrated if the news didn’t do that already. Have you noticed that lately a lot of people’s conversations revolve around complaining about what’s going on in the world, but not really doing anything to change it or make it better?
It’s easy to start a chain reaction of negativity. For example, you hold the door for someone; they walk through without saying thank you. Then you think to yourself, “The next time I go through a door, I’m just gonna let it slam in the face of the person behind me. That way I won’t get hurt if they do not say thanks...” I’ve definitely been there. Or how about getting cut off in traffic, so then you decide to cut the next person off to feel better about what happened? Well if everyone acts that way, the world will and is getting sadder and meaner. But what if you held the door every time you went through one? Yeah, you might get some negative people who don’t say thanks, but you could also get a person who was having a bad day, and you holding the door for them restored their faith in good people.
The truth is... there is a lot of good in the world if we would just open our eyes and hearts to seeing it.
Start Seeing the Positive
Positivity to me is choosing to look at the good in life.
All you need to do to see the good in the world is simply walk to the park and look at the sun shining above you, the kids playing in the grass, and the dogs running around greeting everyone! How about having lunch with your mother, or getting a hug from your son? These are all blessings that we take for granted, and yet, make our lives beautiful and remind us why it’s great to be alive!
A piece of advice I learned from The Secret that I love, and try to share with everyone I know is: whenever you are thinking something negative about yourself, your life, a friend, or the world; try to train yourself to automatically think of the positive. For example: say you’re looking at yourself in the mirror, and you think, “I can’t stand my hair.” Try to then think of something you love about yourself – “…But, I love my smile!” It takes some getting used to, but doing this every day will quickly add up and make your day brighter.
Find Hope
I think hope is choosing to believe that no matter what is happening around us, there is a brighter future ahead.
I feel like as a society, we have lost a lot of hope for the future. And, I get it. Between automating jobs, housing getting really expensive, and pension plans going down the tube, it’s tough to feel hope for the future. But, my mom always says something to me that’s important to remember: whenever one thing is taken away, something else is given.
Try thinking about what you want your life, and the world to look like in the future. What can you do to move toward those changes? Find a new career? Volunteer? Travel? Adopt a puppy? Write? Read? Fall in love? Once you start thinking from that place, a place of action, I believe it will be easier to have hope for tomorrow.
Spread Love
To me, love is… well, to be honest, I don’t think there really is a defined definition of love. You just have to feel it to know it. And it comes naturally to all of us if we'd just let it in more! I think we could really use more of this feeling in our hearts, instead of the sadness, anger, resentment, and anxiety that most of us are feeling today.
I think the biggest thing we have lost is love. Love for life, love for the world, love for our job, our education, our country, our fellow man, ourselves. What happened? I don’t know. Too many things to count. But, what I do know is that if we want to survive in the future, we have to start loving again. What do you love? Who do you love? Start focusing on those things/people, and your heart will feel much lighter!
It’s also important to spread love by helping other people. It seems simple, but how many times have you seen someone trip and fall on the street, only for everyone to ignore them and keep walking? If someone drops their keys on the floor, tell them! It’ll really save that person a lot of trouble and you’ll feel better than if you just walked away without saying anything.
If we all start tuning into our hearts, we can live lives full of compassion, empathy, faith, hope, forgiveness, gratitude, and positivity. And if we all just started letting love in and giving love out, the world would be a better place.

Krista Hannesen Editor in Chief of A Beautiful Life Magazine Find her on Instagram @kristahannesen
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