Recovery: Starting over

I begin teaching a series of BIKE LESSON classes tonight at a homeless shelter here in Phoenix called Homeward Bound. I'll spend the next five weeks introducing 10 women to my BIKE philosophy. They live temporarily in the shelter while they get their lives together. Some of them will be recovering from addictions. Some of them will have escaped an abusive partner. Most of them have young children. None of them can make it on their own just yet. They are all starting over.

Because I've "been there done that," I approached the organization, thinking I might have something to offer these women. The executive director agreed. So I volunteered to teach there last year. They sent 8 women to me, and five stuck it out. I really enjoyed working with them and felt I had a connection with them. I'm not sure what happened when I left. The shelter has scheduled a reunion day with the women from my first class in six weeks, after this new session ends. I'm looking forward to that. One of the women in that first year told me she wanted to do what I'm doing--that is, teach other women how to live a better life. And I saw that she actually was. I can't wait to see her and get a chance to catch up.

What I want to instill in their minds more than anything else boils down to one word: hope.

When you're starting over, starting fresh, if you don't have hope that things will get better, you're already behind.

In your worst moments, let's discuss today how you connected with that word. Where do you think "hope" comes from, and how can you manifest it in your own life? Do you agree with what I believe, that it's a spiritual thing?