Hope

the antidote to despair

Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash

Last month I pondered if there was a positive use of the word “should”. Most agreed it was a loaded word steeped in negative judgement. Some added “clearly” and “obviously” to that list. But one person added “hopefully” to the list of loaded words, which got me to thinking – How is Hope a negative?

I suppose when hope is imagined as blind optimism or fantasy steeped in denial of reality, that would be a negative context. But Hope, by definition, is not a fanciful dream or passive wishful thinking. Hope is our human superpower. Hope is active. I think of hope as a soothing balm. Hope is the quiet belief that something positive will come from one’s struggles. Hope is not only the thought of a better tomorrow, but the motivation to work toward that goal so we can survive the present.

Hope is never a guarantee of an outcome, rather it serves as the fuel to move towards an outcome. Hope never asks us to ignore our challenges, it allows us to see beyond our current situation. Hope provides us with the strength to move forward, and it is the antidote to despair.

Muhammad Tuhin sums up Hope up brilliantly in a recent article he posted, “Hope is not always forward motion. Sometimes hope is holding still. Sometimes hope is going to therapy. Drinking water. Answering one email. Getting out of bed. You don’t have to save the world to be hopeful. Sometimes, hope is simply refusing to give up on yourself. Because deep down, you know something. You’ve always known. That the story isn’t over. That your best days may still be ahead. That light returns—even after the longest night. That love endures. That healing is possible. And that inside your chest, even now, there is a small flame—flickering, persistent, sacred. That is hope. Don’t let it go.”

#compassion #bettertogether #gratitude #hope #kindness