Hope is not something subjective due to an optimistic or sanguine temperament or a desire for compensation. It is a light-force which radiates objectively and which directs creative evolution towards the world’s future. It is the celestial and spiritual counterpart of the natural and terrestrial instinct of reproduction ... In other words, hope is that which moves and directs spiritual evolution in the world.
When you are interiorly free you call others to freedom, whether you know it or not. . . . A free man or a free woman creates a space where others feel safe and want to dwell. Our world is so full of conditions, demands, requirements, and obligations that we often wonder what is expected of us. But when we meet a truly free person there are no expectations, only an invitation to reach into ourselves and discover there our own freedom. Where true inner freedom is, there God is.
I feel an increasing desire to be silent with friends. Words are important in bringing hearts together, but too many words can alienate us from one another. Not every event has to be told, not every idea has to be shared. Once an atmosphere of mutual trust is present we can be silent together and let God be the One who speaks, gently and softly.
~ from THE PRIMACY OF THE HEART by Henri Nouwen thanks to A. Vernilye
