Just One Yes

I was watching The Voice one night, and a contestant was asked what he would like to say to those watching his journey. He said, “Remember, no matter how many times you hear the word no, it just takes one yes.”

Great advice, I thought, to those waiting for their “turn” at something in life. But then I began thinking about my own life. Are there any yeses left for me? Not in a hopeless way, but in a realistic way.

I am not waiting for that perfect job, or opportunity, or relationship. I’m not waiting for my chance to do something big. I have been thinking about his words for a while because I always want there to be hope for more. It’s just that more looks different at this stage.

I began to realize that, at this point in life, there is plenty of more to be had. It’s just that it cannot come from others.

I want more peace, more kindness, more compassion. I want more stillness, more pauses, more wisdom. I want to give more, whether a hug to someone at work having a hard day, an ear to someone who needs to process thoughts, a meal to someone who needs some help, an actual handwritten card to to someone on our mind, a kind word to anyone because there’s no one who doesn’t need that.

So it still takes just one yes. The only difference is that at this season, it comes from within. It comes from giving ourselves permission to be completely authentic to the person we are becoming—kinder, wiser, more compassionate, less judgmental, more at peace with our circumstances and the world around us. 

It is basically saying yes to hope. We have a future that depends on saying yes to every possibility for more of what’s real, true, and beautiful. Because without that, we are living a life that focuses more on aging than thriving.

We can all hear a YES if we stop looking around us and listen to what’s already inside us. At the end of the day, let’s take note of the yeses we have heard. We may find we hold the secret to surprising ourselves with hope every single day.