In Finding Beauty in a Broken World, Terry Tempest Williams writes about award-winning Italian mosaicist Marco de Luca. Of his craft, de Luca declares, “Out of randomness, you create order.” Which is what, I can see now in hindsight, the Six-Pointed Hope Star that I wrote about in Secret #45 does in our work and our lives. The Hope Star is a construct created to help us find, and build, hope in a broken world that often leaves us struggling to find our emotional footing. In order, these are the six points:
1. Help people see a better future.
2. Help people see how they might get to that future.
3. Show people how much they matter.
4. Help people see how much their work matters.
5. Help people see how small steps are the keys to success.
6. Show people how they fit into a larger whole.
We can, I believe, do these six things for everyone we work with, every day, usually simply in the course of our daily work. At times like these, when I’m feeling very sad, I’ve learned, that I also need to do them for myself, since, no matter what happens, I won’t get far in my work and my life unless I begin by choosing hope. When I choose hope, it helps me to believe. It helps me find happiness in hard times. It helps me not to sink into the helplessness that I often feel coming on. It helps me hold course. And it’s not just about me; if we want to help those we work with to have healthy lives, then helping them learn to also consciously choose hope is equally important.
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