When You’re Caught Between Hope and Fear

The Gathering Room Podcast

Martha Beck

Business, Entrepreneurship, Self-improvement, Courses, Education

5 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 12 September 2024

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

There are times when really important things are happening, and we really care about the results. At such times, it’s hard not to get stuck in that awful place between hope and fear. In this episode of The Gathering Room, Martha is talking about how hope and fear are on the same continuum. The moment you get attached to a hope, you’re also afraid it won't happen. And the moment you’re afraid of something happening, you also hope that it won’t. As it says in Martha’s favorite book, the Tao Te Ching, “Hope is as hollow as fear. Whether you go up the ladder or down, your position is shaky. When you stand with your two feet on the ground, you will always keep your balance.” Hope and fear are fundamentally future directed, Martha says, so to get off this shaky ladder and plant your feet on the ground, you must bring yourself to the present moment by practicing mindfulness and equanimity. When we are mindful, we are fully present and aware of our surroundings and sensations, and with equanimity, we can maintain a calm state of mind, regardless of challenges. To hear Martha’s insights on how to step off the shaky ladder, ground yourself in the present moment, and mother yourself during difficult times, don’t miss this encouraging episode, which includes Martha’s guided meditation to connect with peace, compassion, and joy.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, the lovely peoples. This is Marty, Martha, inviting you to a free masterclass that I have made called
0:08.0	Five Paths to Your Purpose. Probably the most common question I get from people is, how do I find my purpose?
0:14.7	Why don't I feel that I'm on purpose? Well, it turns out there are certain things you have to do to find your purpose, and I broke
0:22.0	them down into five, and I made a little masterclass about it. So if you'd like to see it, just go to
0:28.3	marthabeck.com slash purpose, and you will be able to watch it without any charge at all.
0:49.0	Welcome to the Gathering Room podcast, the audio version of my weekly gathering room broadcast. I'm Martha Beck. It is an absolute joy to have you here and an honor, a true honor.
0:57.6	And at this point in time, I have made no secret of my political leanings lately because I think
1:05.7	it's time for all of us who have deeply held beliefs to speak out about them.
1:10.7	That does not mean that I believe my deeply held beliefs are more important than yours.
1:15.6	And if yours are different from mine, I hope to sustain a curious interest rather than a knee-jerk, resentment or resistance.
1:24.6	But for those of us who are watching things go on in the world, it's a time when hope and fear can come to play a very, very key part in our lives.
1:35.5	So I'm talking about this particular moment in history.
1:38.8	But I've also, just today I talked to two people, one who's going to have a grandbaby by Friday.
1:44.6	If her daughter's not in labor on Thursday, they're going to induce.
1:48.2	Yay, little boy.
1:50.2	And I also heard last week about people in my extended family who lost a baby they expected to happen,
1:59.0	and my heart absolutely shattered for them. It was really a terrible
2:03.4	way, terrible thing to go through. And it made me think about these liminal periods when things
2:09.9	are about to change, when you're going to have a baby, when you're going to get married,
2:13.7	or when you're going to move to a place, you found a house you love and it may or may not come
2:18.0	through. There are these times when really important things are happening for us and we care a lot
2:24.6	about the results. And at such times we tend to get in this awful place between hope and fear.
	...

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