Do you know what hope is? Hope is an incredible emotion. It is also distinctly human. But can you describe it? These 10 thoughts may shed some light.
10 Thoughts on What Hope Is
You must know what hope is to live a fulfilling life. Whether you’re contemplating a future where you achieve all your goals, solid A’s on your report card, a big raise at work, or an affirmative answer to the request for a date, the common thread is hope.
“Animals cannot hope. People do.”
Suzanne Kane
Sunshine on a cloudy day.
When things look dismal, and you can’t find solutions, hope cuts through the darkness and casts a warm, healing light. The fact that it can arrive so unexpectedly makes it all the sweeter.
Once you experience what hope is, you know it. There’s no mistaking the profoundness of the emotion. Unlike sunshine, however, hope can stick around. Hope will still be there even when the going gets tough.
What hope is: It’s restorative to the soul.
Failure and disappointment can crush prospects like a train wreck. One setback after another tends to eat away at the soul. Sometimes it reaches a point of no return.
On the other hand, hopefulness helps rebuild the weary soul. This life-affirming emotion restores it to a vigorous, healthy state. If the soul is fueled by love, hopefulness fuels the flames.
The driver of motivation.
Have you ever faced a project that seems impossible? It takes too long, and the outcome is uncertain. Many of us have been there.
What gets us going, despite the odds, is hope — the decisive driver of motivation. We must believe that we will be successful. This anticipation of accomplishment pushes us forward and keeps us going to succeed.
What hope is: Source of inspiration.
Where do you find inspiration? When you want to be lifted, what gets the job done? What is it about inspiration that makes it so elusive?
If there’s one word that illustrates where inspiration comes from, it’s hope. Seeing something other than life’s mundane sameness requires it. This is the inspiration that transforms everyday sameness into something better.
Hope is necessary for creativity.
Without being hopeful, nothing new would ever be created. Think about it. To create, you must have hope.
The outcome may not be clear, but it doesn’t need to be for the artist, inventor, designer, musician, or everyday person to pursue their vision. Hope is all you need to bring forth your creativity.
The foundation of love and happiness.
No one rushes into love, knowing for sure it will be returned. For many, this very doubt makes love so deliciously painful and desirable.
Yet one thing is sure: Emotion is the foundation of love and happiness. Without believing that a relationship could blossom into something more profound, there’d be no basis for love. That clue is hope, without which love wouldn’t exist.
Companion to generosity.
Even the tightwad Ebenezer Scrooge eventually fell under its influence. He cast aside his stinginess and willingly gave to others. People don’t suddenly become generous because they think it will do them some good. They do it because of an inner desire to do good for others.
Why is the emotion a companion to generosity? The giver envisions a better outcome because their gift is freely given without expecting reciprocity.
The basis for seeing possibilities.
Life is often contradictory. Instead of a clear path forward, the way may be blocked with insurmountable obstacles. It takes courage and hope to imagine possibilities amid such distraction and chaos.
Indeed, when you are sustained by hopefulness, nothing is impossible. It may take longer than you’d like. Or require more work and assistance than you currently have. Yet, hope allows you to discover original approaches to help you avoid hurdles.
What hope is: The cement that binds friendship.
Think about your best friend, the one you’ve been pals with since kindergarten. You’ve been through good times and bad. Somehow, you’re always there for each other. What is the reason you’ve stuck together so long? Could it be that you always see the best in your friend and value the goodness of your partnership?
This powerful emotion is the cement that holds friendships together. It can keep the bond secure even through the most trying times.
Mysteriously able to heal.
In every family, sooner or later, bad things happen. Someone gets sick, undergoes surgery, collapses, has an accident, or experiences an injury. Doctors use their professional skills to dispense medications and fix, sew, patch, or otherwise mend the damage. But to truly heal? That requires more than just medications, operations, and counseling.
People who lack a feeling of hopefulness don’t heal as fast as those who do. But being hopeful can also mysteriously heal even when the recovery prognosis is grim. “Against all odds” is the expression. Others may say it just wasn’t their time. But the truth is that the emotion is the underlying reason for recovery – or at least a decisive contributing factor.
