Hope is the light that glimmers in the dark of the unknown. It is the flicker of possibility in the murky depths of the impossible. It is the reason we kneel in prayer and work to improve our lives and volunteer to help others. It is why we wake up and move forward and dream of better days.

Words are the casings that contain the explosive power of ideas. They are packages of potent meaning, arsenals of potential. They can tie you to a miserable life or liberate you. They can wake us up, move us, motivate, inspire, change, redirect, open and free us. They can push us to reevaluate, leap, hope, believe, act, create and do. What words most reflect your life?

I’m convinced that each of us has a superhero waiting to be let loose no matter where we are or who we identify with at this particular moment in our lives. I believe you are a superhero, even if the hero part hasn’t been fully identified or coaxed from its inner lair. It’s our job to discover how to release the powers already there, dormant perhaps, but waiting to be discovered, developed and unleashed.

Depression is a thousand knives continually cutting at the fabric of the heart. It is the empty space of nothingness stretching mile after forsaken mile. It is darkness and despair and the endless echo of loneliness. It is oppressive and violent and vile. And yet there are ways of shining a light into that seemingly eternal darkness. There are ways to stop the deafening scream of emotional pain that shrieks in the inner ear of the depressed. Hope is available. Here’s the first step.

Religion offers a powerful context for the development of traits that help produce happiness in Read More.