While there will always be temptations to dwell in great glories and insights of the past, real hope is not found lingering in the space of yesterday. Likewise, there is temptation to believe that the real good we seek is just up ahead or around the corner, in a future that we never seem to quite reach. Yet hope is never found in what might be, but only what is. Thus, contemplative practice always brings us back to welcome the present moment, where real hope is found. Thomas Keating reflects on finding hope in the present moment:

To hope for something better in the future is not the theological virtue of hope. Theological hope is based on God alone, who is both infinitely merciful and infinitely powerful right now. Here is a formula to deepen and further the theological virtue of hope with its unbounded confidence in God. Let whatever is happening happen and go on happening. Welcome whatever it is. Let go into the present moment by surrendering to its content…. The divine energies are rushing past us at every nanosecond of time. Why not reach out and catch them by continuing acts of self-surrender and trust in God?