Never underestimate the power of small pleasures that provide hope.

For the first time in the planet’s history, every country bleeds by this COVID pandemic. The world feels dark. Our sun is hiding its face behind dark clouds, as if weeping its sorrows upon the land.

The pandemic has laid us bare.The darkness feels like a black hole is opening up beneath us and we will fall right through. This is what the coronavirus is doing to us. Every single moment feels like we are going to fall through the black hole.

What this means is that the more the world feels dark and scary, the more we need a beacon of hope.

I’m learning every day to find hope in small pleasures bit by bit. At first, it felt like something was gnawing at me, like I needed someone else to give me hope.

Give me hope.

The more I felt desperate, the bigger and more powerful that black hole became. The only way to shrink the terrifying hole was to find hope for myself.

Our world is cruel right now.

I wailed on my front door yesterday. Reason? I couldn’t hug my neighbor’s kid. He laughs when I lift him off the ground before tickling his sides.

It pisses me off that I can’t hug a kid.

COVID-19 is stealing precious pleasures from us. It’s hard to find hope when the raging pandemic is controlling every moment of our lives.

Even when I entered home and washed my hands, my mind tricks me into washing my hands again. I’m not afraid for myself. I am afraid for the ones I love. So, while I was moving my thumb in circles on the top of my boyfriend’s hand, I paused. Even though I had washed and taken a shower, I was afraid.

We fear showing love these days.

We do not know when we are getting our lives back. And we forget worrying is useless. Fretting does not stop the pandemic. It only causes more suffering and torments.

Unless we find hope, the darkness will snuff out the light we carry.

It’s possible to find hope if we can imagine it.

I imagine a future where the deadly virus does not haunt our streets. One of my boyfriend’s work friends thinks this is foolish.He’s dragging everyone with him with his pessimistic attitude. He declares to us all the time, “The virus will never go away!”

Everyone who talks to him feels more terrified than they already are.

What’s keeping such people from spreading the darkness even more is light. Like someone stepping up and writing something hopeful. Have you read John Gorman’s beautiful piece, “Life is (Still) Beautiful”?After reading it, I had to walk to my garden to stare at a beautiful flower. I noticed the incredible patterns and colors not even the greatest artist could re-create.

What we can use now is a sprinkle of hope. I am asking you to use your imaginations for your hopes. Imagine a future you have not been able or willing to imagine before. To create in your mind a world you want to live in. A world without the coronavirus. A world you want your friends and families to live in.

I want you to write a description of the world you want. Let’s be exuberant and dare to create it. Picture it, and be as particular as you can.

It’s possible if you imagine it.

Hope is a small redundant word, but we have to try, we have to hope.

Without hope, it’s difficult to hear anything other than the roaring of the pandemic. If we do not seek hope, the darkness will consume us. We need to rise above the flames and refuse to succumb to its bleakness.

Life is more than a deadly pandemic. It has to be.

You must seek the light, especially in dark days. Because once we surrender to darkness, we lose hope and without hope …we have already lost.

Take comfort from the beauty of nature that (still) exists.

Two weeks ago, I was walking along an empty road and looked up to see an insane bright double rainbow. I stood in the middle of a road, slack-jawed.

Nature is (still) beautiful. People can find hope any time by looking at their surroundings. But we forget we can, so we almost never do.

Here’s an incomplete list of the beauty of nature that still exists:

. The rising of the sun.

. Rain drops hitting your skin.

. Birds chirping their morning songs, echoing one another from several trees away.

. Night creatures singing their songs.

. Holding something cold and sweet in your mouth, like watermelon or an orange. And feeling the burst of energy lifting your spirits.

. The branches of a tree swaying and its leaves dancing to the sound of a near-by flowing stream.

. The wind blowing and caressing your face, carryingwith it a crispness signaling the approaching change of season.

. The sun shining on the surface of crystal blue waters, the color of sapphires, as if it holds the world’s finest gems and treasures.

In a life that feels rudderless, aimless, maybe even pointless, hope is a rare comfort.

If you feel hopeless, like you don’t know how to get out of your bed in this dark time, there is only one thing you have to do.

Find hope in small things. That’s it.

Everything else, everything becomes secondary. Because when the world feels dark and scary, it’s easy to find it all overwhelming.

So all you need to do, my dear, is find hope.

It feels like this darkness is for forever and that there will never be light. But the fact is everything is temporary and as permanent as this feels, you are going to outlast it.

So just hold on.

Focus on something that brings you hope, no matter how small. I mean it. Get up. Go on a run, or a walk, or a stretch. Talk to a friend. Flowers on your desk. A special cup to hold in your hands.

Never underestimate the power of small pleasures that give you hope. Sometimes the small pleasures in life show you what matters. And the significance of them feels like a weight to the chest.

Focus on something you have, no matter how small it is. You are breathing. You can walk. You can feel the sun on your face. You have people who love you. You have you. You can open a window and breathe fresh air. You can hold your favorite cup in your hands and drink from it.

You give light to the world’s darkness as you focus on the light. You will feel less blue. This is not instant. It’s not magic. It’s not linear. But it’s real.

When the world feels dark and scary, all you need is one small thing, an inkling, a hint.

So, here. I will give it to you: It’s hope.

One of your truths (though you may have forgotten it) is that you’ve been able to handle everything – literally everything – that life has thrown at you. This period of darkness is no exception.

The clouds will burn off.

To your inspirations,

Banchi