I have a friend who appears sad. In our conversations, she often challenges me about why I am concerned and trying to change local issues as well as the broader world. I realize I care because I have hope that things can be better if I do something. She said she had little hope for anything to change. The conversations pushed me to think more deeply about hope and what it means to me, especially for this new year.
A professional colleague of mine introduced me to the idea of a “politics of hope” years ago. She explained that a belief (all politics are about beliefs) in hope was not only understanding something but working to critically examine, break down, and question the structures associated with the situation.
I wondered why hope was so important to me and seemed illusive for my friend. I learned, as people do, to hope when I was a child. When I was upset, usually mom and sometimes dad consoled, “It’s OK. It will get better.” I believed them.
I have also been thinking about how a person sustains hope when things sometimes feel hopeless. Big questions relative to climate change and social injustice prevail to mention only two issues. What happens when you lose hope? What happens when a person loses confidence in better days ahead? Sans hope I am in a state of sadness and fear.
The late Desmond Tutu suggested, “Hope is being able to see the light in spite of the darkness.” I have struggled with clinical depression during my life, and I know the feeling of darkness and dim light. For me, being hopeful as I enter the new year embodies positive feelings. More than that, I want my hope to result in inspired actions focused on self-improvement as well as making a difference in the world around me. I have learned that hope is having an expectation that change is possible because of intentional efforts.
Jane Goodall and Doug Abrams’ recent book, The Book of Hope, describes Goodall’s four reasons for hope in the chaotic world: amazing human intellect, the resilience of nature, power of young people, and the indominable human spirit. Thoughts from someone like Goodall gives me a foundation for a belief in human strength and informed actions for the new year.
I am not one to make new year’s resolutions, but I am committed to being hopeful for the future. I will support others who aspire with hopeful hearts and are willing to put actions behind their beliefs, resolutions, wishes, and hopes. Have a hopeful new year!
I’m right there with you, Karla (but you say it much better)!
Happy New Year!
I need your constant reminders to stay positive and choose hope!
Love you, girlfriend!
I love this thoughtful reflection. It rings true for me. So, I too will welcome 2022 with hope in my heart and a commitment to try to do what I can in my small ways to make things a little better… to believe that there is a rainbow hanging over my head and the actions i take.
This instalment of Wondering and Wondering really hit home with me. I have lived with hope for a long time and even when things did not work out the way that I had hoped they would, I was able to continue to have hope for the future. Love reading these thoughts of yours.
Thanks, Karla. So good to read your thoughts on HOPE. I was recently reading about Jane Goodall and her new book. She is amazing and the book sounds so interesting and “Hopeful”! Thanks so much for your interesting and hopeful thoughts. With love and hope – ANNE.
Thank you for this, Karla. Beautifully said. As I continue to teach Mental Health First Aid, I always emphasize the power and importance of hope. It’s the primary factor lost when people attempt suicide and what we can best encourage in others when they face feelings of being trapped and see no way out. Hope, having ways to find it, is crucial to survival, as well as happiness. Thank you, again.