The Hope Experiment!

Hello! Welcome to The Hope Experiment!

How this got started:
I, Jennifer (aka Sundries Sublime) was going through a rough patch. You can read a little bit about it here. I was emailing and calling my friends, looking for encouragement, positive energy, laughs - anything to get out of this dark pit I felt trapped in. I asked family and friends to pray for me, specifically that I would be filled with hope.

My friend Esther sent me a package in the mail to encourage me. Inside was this very cool pendant made by jewelry artist Nicole Honner of Moonwater Designs.

It was so, so encouraging to me to get this pendant. I was literally sent "hope"!! Right then I decided I had to choose to be hopeful regardless of my circumstances! In an effort to do so I decided to start a new blog just to record all the things in my life to be hopeful about. I wanted to see if "counting my blessings" would change my life.

This idea is not original to me. There are many gratitude journals on Amazon. I found several blogs on hope, gratitude, blessings and joy. There's even this blog that's turning "hope" into action! Apparently lots of people are finding benefits from "looking on the bright side."

I want those benefits too! I want to see the silver lining. I want to be a "glass half full" kind of girl. Ok, here's a confession: I am by nature a "glass half empty" person. A pessimist. An Eeyore. I don't want to be that way any more! So, I'm starting this experiment. The Hope Experiment!

Who we are:
So far, we're a few women of various ages living all around the globe! Each of us will post an introduction so you can get to know us a little better. The official list of contributors may change or grow over time but our hope is that you, dear readers, will post comments or send emails about your own hope experiences and experiments! We want to hear from YOU!

How it will work:
We are going to record things we are thankful for. Things that give us hope. It might be something as simple as a cup of coffee or a great new band! It might be a life-changing encounter with a stranger. Sometimes it might be very hard and trying circumstances that have taught us much and we are therefore so thankful for! Sometimes we might be very cheesy! Sometimes it might seem like we're grasping at straws, searching for something to post. I think those are the most important ones!! When we don't feel hopeful at all, but we are choosing to see the goodness in something!

Besides just listing things we are posting we plan to put our hope into action. Maybe do some random acts of kindness - individually or as a group. Maybe we'll post some "hope challenges" for our readers.

We will also record any changes we see in our lives. If "counting our blessings" does anything for us, we will post about it right away!!

This blog, this Hope Experiment, is a work in progress. There might be some growing pains. We may change directions along the way. We may leave it idle for weeks at a time. We hope you'll be patient with us!!

What we hope to get out of this:
I can't speak for everyone but I really hope to see a change in my life. I hope to cultivate a more positive attitude. I hope that after a while it won't be work to look on the bright side but it will just come naturally.

We also humbly hope we can encourage someone out there. Perhaps shine a little light in your corner of the world. Maybe, just maybe, make this world a little better than we found it.

Thanks for stopping by! Please look around. Make yourself at home. And if you're so inclined, we'd love to hear from you!!

~ The Hope Experiment