The things we once hoped for

Quite often, when I come across something thought-provoking or inspiring while scrolling on social media, I save it - a little reminder to return to when I need it.

When I was thinking about what to write for this week’s post, I found an image I had saved twice:

Illustration by Helen Craig; post and quote by @wonderled.life (via Instagram).

Image description: illustration of a mouse family in a cottage kitchen; a parent mouse pours tea by lamplight as snow falls outside. Text reads: “Silly me, here I was hurrying through all the things I once hoped for.”

It reminded me of something else I’d saved, a post by Canadian therapist Kelsey Robson (@kelsey.jo.robson), where she talked about living your life as if it were an answered prayer.

Both the image and this idea made me pause and think about my own ‘answered prayers.’ I remember feeling grateful and content in that moment.

In a world that constantly urges us toward the next goal, it’s easy to forget that much of what surrounds us today are things we once longed for: a home, a stable job, meaningful relationships, the resolution of a hard period.

Kelsey Robson also invites us to consider how much of what we are and have today represents the answered prayers of those who came before us, our ancestors. That truly moved me. I thought about my grandmother, who loved going to school and learning but, as a girl in rural Sicily in the mid-1900s, could only attend for three years before having to get married at sixteen. I am so grateful to be a part of her answered prayers. She was so proud of me for going to university and then studying in the UK.

Now, I don’t want to come across as the twinkling fairy of mindless gratitude, one who bypasses or ignores the lows of life, or the fact that the world right now often feels like it’s gone absolutely mad.

But I do believe that if we manage to pause, notice and appreciate the parts of our lives that were once only hopes, we might show up in the world a little lighter, a little brighter, and contribute more positively than if we were always rushing through life — forgetting that we’re already living so many answered prayers.