Hope Rater

One popular–and very witty–Twitter account
during these days of lockdown
is Room Rater (@roomrater)
run by Claude Taylor and his fiancee Jessie.

What they do is
they literally rate the rooms of celebrities
appearing on Zoom for shows or interviews.
Not only are the captions funny,
but they can also be quite instructive
in terms of how to design your Zoom background
and how to frame your videos.

Here are some examples
of those who aced it
as well as those who flunked.

Here’s a question for you:

How would you rate your HOME in terms of HOPE,
from a rating of 1 to 10,
what rating would you give yourself?

There is no pressure to give yourself a 10!
What’s important here is that you take a step back
and look at all that’s going on around you.
It’s not about how things should be,
but simply about how things are
in the here and now.

If you’re up to it,
share your rating with us
(under LEAVE A REPLY)
and tell us the reason(s) for your choice.
Your post will be anonymous,
and it might help
your fellow participants.

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61 replies on “Hope Rater”

I would rate my home, where I live alone, an 8. I am beset by anxiety , fear and uncertainty, but I choose to pray and hope and trust in God, and also lean on a bit on my close family and friends.

I cannot seem to decide what hope rating I should give. It really depends on the area of my life right now. I am usually a hopeful and positive person. Sadly, I cannot say the same about my marriage. Now that it is home and together 24/7, I have someone physically present but emotionally absent.

I gave it a 10. I am confident in God. I know that He is a promise keeper. He is faithful. Though I may not understand His plans yet, I understand and trust Him. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

my rating is 10 because despite all the problems, concerns, anxiety, I feel blessed that at the end of the day, I am with a person who made lockdown easier, funnier and happier. Another home is my Mom. Inspite of her illness and she cannot talk, just looking at her and holding her hands gives me a lot of consolation and love.

My rating is 8; because I am a work in progress. My heart is full of thankfulness but I still carry anxieties due to uncertainties hovering my environment. I have to keep my hope and faith stronger and burning,

My rating is 8 because I am a work in progress. I am full of thankfulness for the blessings but I sometimes worry about the many uncertainties hovering my surroundings. Everyday is an answered prayer. I need to keep my faith stronger and burning

I gave a 9 for HOPE. While I am deeply thankful for all the blessings and even the challenges thrown at me because they make me stronger, there is that part of me that is still in fear. But it is a small small part. I cannot ask for more now that I am enjoying the benefits of working from home.

9/10. With the vaccine rollout, I’m hopeful that soon life will go back to a better normal for everyone. With the digitalisation, we can make Work life easier by allowing people to Continue working from home.

10 for HOPE. Rather than be frustrated, restless, and helpless, the uncertainty can only be matched by lots and lots of hope.

I rated our home 9. While we are not able to go to Church and receive Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we have been blessed with opportunities to celebrate Mass, say our Holy Rosary and pray for those who have asked / need prayers of healing daily with my husband. My 2 children who are so blessed to be able to work from home and our kasambahay are able to join us for Sunday Mass. Continuing to count our blessimgs in the midst of today’s challenges.

I rated ours with 6. I’m not blind to the blessings in our lives during this challenging period, but the future looks bleak when I look at the world outside – so much poverty, hatred and violence, and suffering. Is there an end to all these? I know, in my heart of hearts, there is. But most days I struggle to believe that.

Despite the many anxieties and frustrations, my faith leads me to continue hoping. No matter how dire the situation I, or many of us, may be in.

I rated our home 6.

Am not sure how I can rate it higher when every time I come home I find my children doing there own thing in front of their gadgets… my wife, most of the time, watching her Netflix… just can’t see Hope there, lalo na after a not-so-good day at the office

I give my home a 7. It allows me to do the essentials and some non-essentials but there’s room for growth. I’m hopeful one day it could spark joy in me and I’d give it a 10.

We have decorated for Christmas and lots of lights. Mama has a brand new table where the downstairs altar of the Divine Mercy is. We have a “lanai”and new plants there. Our home is generally airy and well lit.
What’s more important is that my sis -who lost her job and found a new one – and myself – an OFW who chose to come home during this pandemic and overall financially ok – are with Mama, who is almost 85 but a real prayer warrior. This is where our Hope comes: we have a strong prayer warrior in her, and her always bubbly self is still there despite the age. I had a burnout with work thus I came home, but now I feel a lot better, a lot more capable but also less stressed over work that I don’t see.
I had an old school teacher passing away to cancer at age 66, too young but what to do? I was sad but knew that she was a good person and would be a shoo-in for Heaven. Thus I am not devastated. I do feel for her kids though, still in their 20s and already orphaned…

7 — which, relative to me is very low. I’ve always been a 10, but in the last couple of months I’ve been captive to immediate gratification. The pandemic is just one of many other issues that have made staying present and hopeful a challenge.

I wanted to rate mine 8 but I think that would undervalue all the blessings that I, and we (my family and loved ones) have received throughout the year. It’s not the 2020 I expected but God has provided, and is still providing. I am humbled and in awe in how He has moved in my life amidst this mess of a year. I find hope in the blessings, I find hope in how (even in challenging times) He makes Himself present in my life.

My rating is 7. I feel so blessed and most of the time, motivated. However, it has become so hard for me to detach to expectations i latched on to for hope. I have hoped that soon we’ll have a taste of normalcy again but i don’t think that will be the case. Everyday i fight the urge to lose hope and it has become quite challenging.

7. I am generally hopeful that in a year or two, things will slowly get better. But i still cannot help but be anxious about finances, about household staff concerns, about kids being cooped up at home instead of learning and socializing in school, about health concerns. i must admit that in order to mentally cope with all the suffering in our country and in the world, I often try to desensitize myself by rationalizing that i can do a little something but i cannot save the world. I pray for the hope that is compelled to act and be more charitable.

It is an 8 for me. I guess even if things are hard at times we have adjusted and still looking foward abd moving forward. I did learn a lot of things. The most important one is planting. SInce the lockdown I tried to take care of the plants of my Mom because she is staying at the province for the time being. While trying to revive the plants that almost dried up it helped see hope because the turmeric plants actually grew tall which after weeks. I have to transfer some to other pots. Then I stated to plant seeds of fruits and vegetables. Hope that it will sprout and grew in the small pots we have. Thank God for the sunlight and rain because the seeds are now plants. 3 Avocado, 3 Pumpkin(Kalabasa) Hopefully the Bell Pepper sprouts will grow.
In relation to these plants life continues to all of us at home. We are all work from home. It is sometimes hard because the work tends to become 24/7. Its like your are always on call as a teacher. There are also weeks that I felt burnout and emotional. It was hard to find purpose in everything that I am doing. Thanks to family, friends, community and collegeaus that I was able to pass through that dark moments. I feel I have hope. It is prayer that I am having struggle to with now.

Today’s world situation gave me things to learn, facts/truth to realize, accept reality and gave me a chance to hope as well. I was given a Baptismal name that spells Hope, that is Esperanza. Come to think of it, I have been with Hope all my life not really knowing why I was given that name. Maybe it was because it was my Mom’s name. But hanging on to Hope told me to tell God to take charge of my every day and that he taking me this far, I know He will never leave me.

It’s a 5 for me because I find myself praying for hope everyday unlike before that I don’t even ask for it. I want so much more of it now and I really ask for the grace to be patient in achieving the level of hope that I need to help me get through this very uncertain times.

My hope rating is 8.

I know that this too will end, and the pandemic has brought on many good things as well: people became more prayerful, spent more time with family, have more time for self and pursue hobbies and interests. The world was given a much needed break.

Personally, despite the regressing economy, my son was able to maintain his job and my other son’s business is picking up. I, too, have clients still coming in.

A vaccine will soon be available.

Yes, there is so much to be hopeful for.

I gave a rating of 7. I feel that the pandemic has brought me closer to God because there are so many people and things that I need to pray for. While I feel blessed about my status where finances is not much of a worry for me esp. when compared to those who are out of work and struggling at this time, there’s also a feeling of helplessness because i can’t do more to make a difference. But through prayers and words of encouragement, I am able to give hope somehow.

I would rate it at 7, this pandemic taught me a lot like strengthening my relationships w my own family & friends, has made me realize more on what my purpose is, has drawn me closer to the Lord…we’ve been blessed immensely but at the same time we’re also mindful of what others need

I feel that there’s still so much to improve on within me and hopefully I can find the answers thru God’s grace.

It’s 9. Since the early days of pandemic, I am back home in Bulacan with my family. Before I just visit Bulacan during weekends and Holidays but now, I am back here, I feel that I am really home. 24/7 with them, no big adjustments but still have alot of things to learn about my family.

Though sometime, in my inner core, I have been struggling that I feel indifferent towards people around me. I have been putting myself in “lockdown”, sometimes, I just make excuses to reach out. But I think it’s my way of escaping from reality.

Yet, my family pushes me to care again. Conversations during meals and conversations before or after our night prayer would really help hope again, care again, see other perspectives about issues etc.

Amidst the uncertainties, there are many new realizations and revelations about myself, the people around me, and the world as a whole. One of the most significant truth that I discovered is how very little it really takes to do what is most important and relevant in life. All these time, I have created so many barriers and internal noise that blinded and deafened me to the point of fear, helplessness, inaction. The pandemic has really exposed my weakness to succumb to the material world and it has reminded me that these distractions are really not essential to discover the only ONE who gives and is HOPE. I am hopeful as I have truly become even closer to the Lord.

I am feeling so anxious and full of fear for the past few days. I am afraid to take risk but also afraid of what my future would be for being afraid of everything. I have a lot of things going on in my mind right now and I know I need God. I have been so distant to Him for a long time now. I have been handling things on my own and finding ways to resolve all thing all by myself. I forgot about God and I know I need Him right now. I just want to stop everything that I am doing. I want to stop working and just focus on finding God. I know finding God and being able to lift everything up to Him will be comfort.

Mas nararamdaman ko nga yatang umaasa ako dahil ang daling mawalan ng pag-asa. Grabe. Minsan sumaswak talaga yung mga naaalala mo mula sa Philo 102. Ano pa ba ang mayroon kundi umasa sa Diyos na bihira naman akong biguin. Joke lang, Lord. 🙂

In my mind, I initially started with a rate of 3 in terms of hope but ended up with a 6 after a few moments. It picks up during the day or from when the lockdown began. It fluctuates -it can start high and end low or vice versa. But when Advent rolled in, the message I got from God was clear and wrote it on a Post-It for me to remember: 3 Beautiful Words – WAIT, HOPE, GIFT. I’ll be 50 in a couple of years and sometimes I feel like there’s not much to show for it. It’s difficult to be out of work since March then I lost my mom in June and need to adjust to living alone. It’s me and God now. I hang on to Him though at times I falter but He never lets me go. ????

I gave myself a 6 because there are times I am hopeful and times I am not especially when my illness bears down on me. I miss the support from family and friends but I know that spiritually they are there with me and that gives me hope that we are always together somehow.

I’ve given myself a 10 not because I don’t feel the weight of the challenges around me but because I am confident that the Lord is always there to lead the way. I’ve seen His hand throughout these 9 months. I would never have done what I have done in leaps and bounds without His hand holding mine always towards the light. I’m grateful for my finding him in stillness in my inner life. Then I can move towards others to be of service in their need.

7 Hope has significantly increased because of one person who makes me feel that i am doing something significant now, i have been very low on hope for about two years now.

7. Okay in some areas and not okay in others. Feelinh the stress of not being able to go out , see, and interact with friends and family. Work from home is so much harder to do.

2…I’ve lost hope in this earthly life for as long as I can remember. I know that I will only be truly happy if I go to heaven.

5. Because in spite of the good things in terms of catching up with family and the opportunity to re-set priorities, the uncertainty of the future for a senior citizen whose looking at the end of her career is quite unnerving. It’s like being in front of a wall not knowing where to turn

The lockdown has given me a lot of opportunity to rekindle my relationship with the Lord – which I tried to take advantage of.. there were so may self realizations during these past few months. Despite what is happening I found peace.

I gave myself a 6 because I misread hope as home. I’m actually more hopeful than that. I would give myself an 8 or 9. My spiritual life has picked up in this pandemic. However, I feel quite alone in my home where no one seems to care about such things.

I gave myself 10. I place myself completely in the hands of God, my rock and salvation. I am not perfect, but my God completely loves me as I am and meets me where I am. I am just thankful and hopeful to God in the midst of life’s uncertainties.

I rate myself 5. Living here in the USA after this last tumultuous election we cannot be so sure if the government of the people and by the people will still be in place. How can anyone hope for Life when the forces of government, together with a biased media advocates principles so against our Catholic faith like for example Abortion up to term? I am so dissolutioned and thank God for my faith which gives me some glimmers of hope!

I gave myself a 7. All throughout the lockdown until now, my whole life has been one massive stress culminating in a 13kg weight loss due to an illness that took many months and many doctors to diagnose. In the midst of despair and physical weakness, everyday that I lived was a ray of hope. As I get stronger everyday so does my hope. A 7 for now seemed just right but I know it will be better.

When things or events don’t go well for the day, I get disappointed but as I end the day with praying the rosary at night, I begin to feel hopeful again with renewed faith.

I wanted to give myself a 3 but I felt it is not fair to God who sustained me these past 9 months. I still want to remain thankful and hopeful so I will give it a 6 and still hoping that it will be better.

I gave myself an 8. I know there is room for improvement. I am ever so hopeful but thankful for all His blessings!

I gave myself a 9 because I am always hopeful at the end of everyday. Waking up in the morning asking God to guide my day no matter what the circumstance is gives me hope. I left the remaining 1 to the important things I tend to forget because of the load of work I need to do not only for my job but also for my family.

I gave myself a 7. I always start my day with a prayer but I tend to get distracted easily. I still continue for I now that with hope everything will end well.

I gave myself a 7. Yes, I have a great relationship with God and this is a great source of HOPE. But there are times that my environment especially people around me which I don’t have control pulls me down. I am grateful for God pulls me up every time I feel low.

Realized during this reflection that my work as a psychotherapist during time has been about keeping the hope alive for clients, especially for young adults whose lives have been put on hold. Grateful to be able to accompany them in their inner journey. Gave a rating of 9.

I rated 8 > starting the day with prayer makes my wholeday in Hopeful attitude… but there are those days when you just feel low ( that is why its not a perfect 10) But still if you see how the fronliners dedicate their service & risk their health ( including their family household) The SPARK OF HOPE COMES BACK – and I am assured that : “He’s got my back”?

I gave myself an 8. Am so blessed during this pandemic! God has given me the grace to adjust to the quarantine. I have realized the essentials.

i gave myself a 9 but was also considering a 10. Anyway it’s because I’ve come to the point of totally surrendering it all to a Someone totally dependable. Have had my ups and downs and each time managed to bounce back. Could also be because being a senior and advanced in years, I’m supposed to have wised up
St. Theresa of Avila’s prayer – Nada te turbe, nada te espante helps and serves as a mantra

it’s my rate because all things are uncertain but I know that God is truly our true hope in this uncertain times

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