The following post is from our Recovery-Centered Clinical System (RCCS) Tidbit of the Month series. Each month, the RCCS Steering Committee creates practices to support our recovery culture within our programs and among staff. Click here to learn more about the RCCS.

Hope is in the Heart

Awakening Hope: One of the Five Conversations of the RCCS

Hope is the fuel for our recovery journeys. Without hope and the belief that a more meaningful life is possible, our efforts will stall. We won’t make the difficult choices that sometimes cross our paths, and we may give up. From the outside, others might see us as unmotivated or lazy. With diminished hope, we feel empty and lost. What is hard to understand is that hope lives in the heart, not in the head.

Telecare’s program staff work with the people we serve to re-awaken lost or diminished hope. They work thoughtfully with individuals to explore and reignite their internal desires and identify what a meaningful life could be to the individual.

These efforts may take a long time. For some, choosing to have hope again is risky. Will these feelings of renewed possibility be crushed by a power-over system and society once again? Will someone point out all of the obstacles and barriers, or will they instead help me visualize my future where I can almost reach out and grab it?

Hopes and dreams guide the recovery process and are powerful medicines. The outcome of these efforts can result in increased energy and motivation. Hope can change our biochemistry.

Photo by @nappystock from nappy.co — ***Photo by @nappystock from*** ***nappy.co***

Practice:

Hopes and dreams don’t need to be huge. Sometimes, we can start small and begin to see a more meaningful future.

Directions: Partner up with someone and share your answers to the following writing prompts:

If you inherited enough money where you could live anywhere, do anything, go anywhere, what would you do?
Share one thing from your personal “Bucket List”.
Describe a perfect day, from morning to night.
What is one activity that you do that makes you smile and brings you joy?
Describe your perfect place to live. Where would it be? Will someone live with you? Would you have a pet? How would you decorate and furnish your home?
Close your eyes and visualize a place that you want to be. What feelings and thoughts are you having?
Do any of the above prompts give you a feeling of excitement? Are you feeling energized? Why or why not?