“To live without hope is to cease to live.”
(Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
It’s that feeling of something desired… a sense of expectation… Yes, we all have our personal hopes and dreams, and there are things that we all hope for together, especially since the whole world changed at the beginning of 2020. We hoped that the lockdown would end, only to find ourselves in another one. We hoped that the virus would be wiped away, only to see it resurface and spread again. So then we hoped that it would all end by a certain time, by Dad’s birthday, or by Easter, or by July because we had plans to go on holiday… As immunisation got underway, everyone began to hope that their turn would come soon. So many hopes like these have been expressed, despite the frustrations.
“Hope can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” (Thich Nhat Hanh)
I myself was eager to be immunised, partly because I am ‘at risk’ but also because I was planning a Special Birthday bash! The deposit had been paid for a lovely hotel with beautiful grounds, so that the young children who came with their parents could play there. Many guests had been invited well in advance, we had arranged the music, the buffet and all the details. We hoped for a beautiful day.
But it became hopeless, indeed the very opposite of hope. Just like for so many others throughout the world, hope itself was dashed. Now my husband and I are simply hoping to celebrate our Special Anniversary in a year’s time… perhaps.
Hope is alive in every age group. It doesn’t matter if the whole world is in crisis, this is the one thing that soars within us and is never completely extinguished. Toddlers hope that Father Christmas will bring them a favourite toy. Their parents hope they will be able to go to a good school, and as the children grow up they hope to make good friends there, then teens hope to pass their exams, get into college or university and then make the grade. Many youngsters apply for jobs, but it’s not easy for them even if they’re qualified with so much competition and so few opportunities; they hope for the best whilst wondering if they should just take anything available. Of course, other people have lost their jobs too, many of them with mortgages and other responsibilities, and they are just hoping for a break.
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
(Martin Luther King, Jr)
Even in ‘normal’ times, our lives are built on hope. It can be a very powerful feeling, inspiring us onwards to achieve more than we thought possible. Many of the world’s greatest leaders, from social reformers to entrepreneurs to politicians, achieved what they did because they were driven by hope for a better future.Hope is such a happy word, lifting the spirit and bringing us together in times of trial. It can make all the difference in challenging days and sustain us along our journey however long it may take – a few months or maybe many years – to achieve what we desire, whether that be a successful career or simply a contented life. And then, looking towards the end of life, we may smile and say that we hope there is a happy afterworld!
“Courage… must have hope for nourishment.”
(Napoleon Bonaparte)
Of course there are those whose desires are not met, who are constantly disappointed and feel ‘let down by life’. We hear them say that it is better not to hope, to expect the worst so that they won’t be disappointed if they do not succeed. But perhaps they are being impatient, not being determined enough and letting opportunities pass them by with this attitude. To those who say ‘there is no hope’, Alexander Pope says, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.” It lives in us all and only needs a small spark or a helping hand to bring it to life.
Nothing worthwhile is easy. Everything in life is a risk, we must jump in and try again! When we face our challenges we may not always win, but the journey will always be a great experience. I had always wanted to write a book but didn’t know how it could happen – until by chance one day I met a helpful publisher…
“Our human compassion binds us the one to the other… as human beings who have learned how to turn our common suffering
into hope for the future.”
(Nelson Mandela)
The word has such a happy sound,
something to hold to, to make our hearts soar,
eager for that knock on the door,
something fulfilled, something lost now found.
Hope knows that things may not come easily,
may not come at all, then one happy day
when you’ve all but forgotten, it comes your way
surprising you, here from eternity.
Without hope life’s monotonous, despairing. It seems
so empty. And yet hope lifts the dark spirits high,
inspiring us on to believe that we can fly,
achieve all life can offer, all our dearest dreams.
Sandy Phillips is the author of The Narrow Doorway, the astonishing story
of her life from the Blitz to spirituality. www.local-legend.co.uk
