A while back I wrote a piece titled "Always expect the worst and you will never be disappointed”. Looking back I can see that the piece was poorly titled. While there may be some truth to it, it is not how I operate at all. Hope is what inspires us, inspires creativity and inspires solutions to real problems. It is what puts the positivity into any and every situation. A life without hope? I could not imagine it.
I hope I'm right.
Michael
Oh, Michael, my first online sweetheart so many years ago,
Somehow I felt as if I knew how you feel about hope. And so it is.
When you referred to your 2009 post, I thought I remembered it, but I re-read it anyway – thanks for the link. Now I know why I though I knew about hope.
In the post you explained why your frie’nds suggested the title because “they hoped that I could avoid the pain so often associated with disappointment.” Your response - “I always hope for and expect the best.” Then you had a long post that included “…It[Hope] is what dreams are made of…” Wow.
You said, “Hope is what inspires us, inspires creativity and inspires solutions to real problems.” Well, Michael, once again you inspire me.
I am waiting for your book, and I hope you ask me to write a blurb on the back cover. You know what I say: There is always hope.
Hello Vicki
Just wanted to say that you have always instilled hopefulness for me. You never sugar coat things but you do find a way to find joy in living the life you have.
Hope is like the chasm between right now and what might be in the future. Hope says..."Yeah it may be bad right now but it can get better."
I wrote a post some time ago which received a lot of very interesting commentary from members asking "Are you an Optimist, Pessimist, or a Depressive Realist?"
I always like to be grounded in reality and know exactly what I am dealing with or may have to deal with...being a pollyanna can have its pitfalls in denying the reality at hand or not coming to terms with real loss or grief. Being a doom and gloom pessimist wastes the time you have now despairing over possible future disasters.
Hope for me is more of a verb...an action I take to optimize my well being and happiness. For example when my youngest son was diagnosed with autism I could have denied his disability or "optimistically" found people to try to "cure" him. I also could have sunk into the dire predictions of "experts" who concluded that he might never learn, talk, or express love. Instead I chose to act with the reality at hand...losing expectations of a certain outcome. My hope was and still is...that he will take the tools and the love that we give him and use it to grow.
Hope is...seeing that you still have options...and choices despite the cards that are dealt to you.
Do I hope for a cure for MS or autism? Some might disagree with this but...not really. I don't have time to sit and pine for cures. Hope for me is...I am going to make the best of this situation... and on some days making the best of it means I have survived the day. But this success is huge when you think about it.
This really is a great question and especially for those of us dealing with a chronic medical condition.
Thanks for asking it!
Thank you, Diane, for saying this is a good question. I think it is, too.
I remember your article, and I was glad you used the term “Depressive Realist” because I always thought of myself as an realistic optimist. It made sense to me, but people always told me there is no such thing. I just quit saying it because I could not describe it. You said it quite clearly, “to be grounded in reality” while also seeing other options.
I like the way you described hope, and I chose your succinct statement - Hope is like the chasm between right now and what might be in the future.
Thank you for the comment.
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If you do not have hope what do you have? I think in some ways the word Hope has been over used and misused, but the true basis of hope is neccessary for us all to survive. We start hoping as very little children and continue to hope till we no longer exist. Rather it be hope for a new puppy or hope for a cure, at any time our hopes are an important part of our being and dreams. Hope is the foundation of tommorow. NEVER give up hope because without it we lose our enthusiasm to live. I have big hopes and small hopes, I hope there will be cures to all the horrible diseases human kind faces, and I hope the wind stops blowing today. "Smile" it makes people wonder what you've been up to. Hope for a better tomorrow and live for today!
Hi Rho – really cute picture with an expression that epitomizes hope as I believe it is. Your post says it like that young girl’s face does.
I do not know what to say about your screen name. Is that your given name that adds ease, comfort, and fun to the hope that face exudes? Or is it symbolic, perhaps referring to a letter from the Greek alphabet and all that represents. As I recall, it is 100 – pretty good on a scale, so you must have confidence.
I really like what you said:
“Hope is the foundation of tomorrow. NEVER give up hope because without it we lose our enthusiasm to live.”
After I was divorced may years ago, my kids and I sang “Tomorrow’s going to be a better day” from the Jim Croce song. We often scrounged through the couch to find eleven cents for a can of Campbell’s tomato soup. Can you believe it cost only eleven cents? We often did find eleven cents and our tomorrow in that lifetime so long ago did get better.
There is always hope.