What are you hoping for? I think about hope a lot lately. I remember watching Anne of Green Gables years ago (the Canadian one with Megan Follows, which is BRILLIANT, and which I STILL have on VHS, even though we haven’t even had a VCR since years back) and Marilla’s response to Anne saying that she was in the depths of despair and asking Marilla if she had ever been in the depths of despair, and Marilla responded, “to despair is to turn your back on God”. Which shut Anne up, I think. And even though I am no longer a religious person in any way, also since years back, that quote has stuck with me. Not because I believe in God, necessarily, but because I believe that God is often just another word for hope. And really, I should remove “just” from the previous sentence, because that’s not fair to either God (for those who do believe) or hope (which we all need).
Having hope is a lot like silent praying, isn’t it? When you’re hoping for something, aren’t you silently asking for it come true? You’re silently putting it out there into the universe, hoping that something or someone or somewise will sit up and take notice and make the thing you are hoping for happen. You don’t even have to ask. You don’t have to put it into words. You just have to hope. Easy-peasy!
Despite the state of the world, I still have hope. I have hope that goodness and kindness will prevail. That people will come to their senses. That the world won’t go under in any of the myriad ways that it could. That all the diverse species of the world (except for chickens and cows which will be all that’s left if we don’t watch out, plus probably cats) won’t be completely wiped out. That we won’t be waging war over water in 20 years. That there will be US air traffic controllers getting paid to do their jobs come December (or somewise willing, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE). That the amount of times I take the Lord’s name in vain won’t doom me to hell. HAHAHAHA, it won’t. There’s no hell. And honestly, even if there was a Lord, I can’t believe He (She) doesn’t have better things to do than give a shit about my swearing. That my hair will grow back. That my hair will grow back and not fall out again in 3 years for some stupid reason. That my mom will be able to start treatment ASAP to stop her cognitive decline. That at least it won’t get worse. That everyone I know will just stay HEALTHY for the foreseeable future. That the wars will end and that those responsible will be held to account. It’s a lot to hope for, I know.
Oh and also, that people will remember to use their damn indicators when they are turning in front of me. That would mean a lot. I get in the car hoping for that every day, and every day, I’m disappointed again. Such a small thing that would make such a big difference. Also, that they would stop SLOWING ALL THE WAY TO A STOP in order to turn, when there is no reason to. Just turn already! WITH YOUR BLINKER ON.
Geez.
Anyway, back to hope. People famously tell you not to give up hope. But you SHOULD give it up. Give it up to the universe and to the future and to the light. Hand it over to the next generation. I think hope is like love. You can’t divide it, it expands. Hope is the same. It builds. It grows. It expands to make things possible. You don’t have to hold on to it, because it holds on to you. It doesn’t give up on YOU. Hope represents optimism and resilience and care. It’s a spark. It gives you a springboard to jump from to get things done and make things possible. It provides impetus and energy. It makes the world go round!
Hope, according to Merriam-Webster, means to cherish a desire with anticipation or to want something to happen or be true. That’s when it’s an intransitive verb. Intransitive means it doesn’t have or contain a direct object. Not hope, I mean, but the WORD hope. The verb. As a transitive verb, it means to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment. Which doesn’t strike me as such a difference. The desire is there, the wishing is there, the expectation is there. Instead of saying “I hope to see you soon”, the archaic version was “I trust I’ll see you soon”. Hope means placing confidence in your desires, with the expectation that they will come to pass. They’ll come to BE. We TRUST in our hopes and our beliefs. We have FAITH. OMG, maybe I AM a religious person!
I trust you’ll know how hard that made me giggle.
*Jean Kerr
Mood: hopeful
Music: Midge Ure—See Hope in the Morning Light