Hope ramblings

Someone recently asked me what hope meant to me. How I would define it (okay, let me just say it, it was in therapy.) I’ve been tripping on that exercise for a while. Reworking my definition. It is not simple.

HAH. Hope. Back when I wanted kids, I always thought I’d name my hypothetical daughter Hope or Amelia (in honor of Amelia Earhart - a brave pioneer.) So “Hope” was, in one way, my vision of a daughter that I tucked away and then permanently shelved. Maybe it’ll be a future cat name?

Yes, “hope keeps us rowing/WANTING to move forward.” I guess that’s its… FUNCTION. Is hope a feeling that is essentially the same for everyone? Is hope inextricably linked to a memory/memories that we wish to replicate in the future? Is hope linked more to ACTION - an exercise in imagining a future worth receiving that we have to participate in? I’ve heard it said that hope “comes in many forms”. While a cliche, this is probably true. Do we receive hope or do we have to act on it (try to make connections, sift through our stories for perspective) when we are not receiving obvious signs of it? Both??

I have temporarily given up trying to define it in simple terms. The older I get, the harder abstractions are to define. I could dole out trite definitions but how would that serve me? Maybe all of this sounds pretentious. I am the someone who wants to rotate gemstones and watch how the prisms change in the shade and sun. I want to know things at their core. Anticipate obstacles. Know what I’m getting into - is it worth my caring?

It does in this case. From almost every angle, true, non lab created hope (not based on delusion) is beautiful and it is wise to choose it.

….When you can.