My Issues With Hope
I have been wondering about hope, the nature of hope, the effects of hope... even the usefulness of it (or lack thereof). I've been holding back from talking about my observations of hope, because I know how controversial these observations will be. But today, I think I'm ready to discuss this.
I am convinced that hope is the most hazardous virtue in existence. Hope is the imaginary wind that lifts you up into the sky; the problem is that it's an imaginary wind. We are always told (and truly, we have all grown up hearing) "never give up hope." We have all come to grab ahold of this saying with a grip of death, and when we are able to hold onto hope, we take pride in the fact like it is a great accomplishment on our end. But in my life, I have come to relate hope to an imaginary sunrise; one that doesn't actually take place. You stand there and you wait for the Sun to rise in the horizon, but then it never actually does.
Hope is the cause of pain, on a rudimentary level. If hope did not exist, I don't think that the deeper levels of pain would exist, either. And really, if something good is going to happen, then it's going to happen. It's not going to happen because you hoped it into existence. Just how many things DO happen, which you never hoped to happen? Did they happen because you hoped for them? Nope! Then what makes people think that the opposite would be true? Why should things happen as a result of hope?
Nothing is actually affected by hope. Hope is a placebo tablet. It's not a medicine. It is a placebo. You think something is happening, but in reality, what's happening is just all placebo effect going on in your mind.
If hope did not exist, then the non-materialisation of things hoped for could not ever cause anyone any pain. Life would not actually consist of disappointments; rather, life would consist of just that: life! Golden life in and of itself! Bad stuff just happens. And nobody can know when! But good stuff happens too; and nobody knows when, either!
Life consists more of chance than of method. And more of unobservable quantum activity than of well-calculated patterns. Therefore, hope really does not have a place in the equation of reality. Because hope is treated as a constant: "have hope and all will be well." In reality, usually when you have hope in or for anything, what you're doing is drugging your mind into thinking that you're going to be okay, when in fact you're not going to be okay.
Then what is supposed to make you feel good when everything hurts? , you're probably thinking. I think that the answer should not be "hope." Belief in better things-- yes. Sheer willpower-- yes. Trust-- yes. But sheer hope?? Sheer hope is for the dying. Sheer hope is the tablet given to the dying, by which the last blows of death become tainted with tolerability!
Such strong thoughts and words on the nature of hope; startling and controversial. Nevertheless, these are the observations I have made while on this journey, on this planet. I hope (hahahaha) that my words will lead you to question and to think, on your own. And before dismissing this piece as utter blasphemy, please first consider the points I have raised.
Does this all mean that I believe in living a joyless life? Of course not! I believe in Awe, in Faith, in Joyfulness, in Trust and in Charity. But hope? I have issues with hope.
I am convinced that hope is the most hazardous virtue in existence. Hope is the imaginary wind that lifts you up into the sky; the problem is that it's an imaginary wind. We are always told (and truly, we have all grown up hearing) "never give up hope." We have all come to grab ahold of this saying with a grip of death, and when we are able to hold onto hope, we take pride in the fact like it is a great accomplishment on our end. But in my life, I have come to relate hope to an imaginary sunrise; one that doesn't actually take place. You stand there and you wait for the Sun to rise in the horizon, but then it never actually does.
Hope is the cause of pain, on a rudimentary level. If hope did not exist, I don't think that the deeper levels of pain would exist, either. And really, if something good is going to happen, then it's going to happen. It's not going to happen because you hoped it into existence. Just how many things DO happen, which you never hoped to happen? Did they happen because you hoped for them? Nope! Then what makes people think that the opposite would be true? Why should things happen as a result of hope?
Nothing is actually affected by hope. Hope is a placebo tablet. It's not a medicine. It is a placebo. You think something is happening, but in reality, what's happening is just all placebo effect going on in your mind.
If hope did not exist, then the non-materialisation of things hoped for could not ever cause anyone any pain. Life would not actually consist of disappointments; rather, life would consist of just that: life! Golden life in and of itself! Bad stuff just happens. And nobody can know when! But good stuff happens too; and nobody knows when, either!
Life consists more of chance than of method. And more of unobservable quantum activity than of well-calculated patterns. Therefore, hope really does not have a place in the equation of reality. Because hope is treated as a constant: "have hope and all will be well." In reality, usually when you have hope in or for anything, what you're doing is drugging your mind into thinking that you're going to be okay, when in fact you're not going to be okay.
Then what is supposed to make you feel good when everything hurts? , you're probably thinking. I think that the answer should not be "hope." Belief in better things-- yes. Sheer willpower-- yes. Trust-- yes. But sheer hope?? Sheer hope is for the dying. Sheer hope is the tablet given to the dying, by which the last blows of death become tainted with tolerability!
Such strong thoughts and words on the nature of hope; startling and controversial. Nevertheless, these are the observations I have made while on this journey, on this planet. I hope (hahahaha) that my words will lead you to question and to think, on your own. And before dismissing this piece as utter blasphemy, please first consider the points I have raised.
Does this all mean that I believe in living a joyless life? Of course not! I believe in Awe, in Faith, in Joyfulness, in Trust and in Charity. But hope? I have issues with hope.
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