What is Hope?

[Alchemist]

I've been trying to understand the essence and use of hope for a week now. I've read about it before, back when I was studying classical philosophy, but sometimes people aren't always ready to take these sorts of things in. They don't comprehend it, or if they do, they utterly reject it as false.

** Copypasta from my blog, instead of re-writing the same thought **

I did not believe in hope. I thought it was highly overrated and overused. Hope? To hope was to fantasise and wish with a lacing of doubt. Why hope when you have a will that will make things happen? Why hope if you had a 100% belief that you will succeed? There's no room for hope in that equation, because you know the outcome. The hopeless are recognised because they believe, with every fibre of their being, that they will fail or that the outcome is not in their favour. But isn't it just the same when you believe- no, when you absolutely know that the outcome is in your favour? Who needs hope when you know you'll win?

** END COPYPASTA **

I've come across a few things about hope. It's said to be a positive emotion as opposed to a positive mindset. It's also said to be one of the three spiritual graces (the other two being faith and charity) according to catholic theology. False hope is defined as wishful thinking and fantasy on an unlikely outcome.

If it is a grace, it is given by God. Grace is not earned by any amount of good deeds. It is a gift from God through Jesus Christ. So says Christianity, anyway, and my beliefs are more aligned with Judaism. It makes me wonder if this grace is given to those only faithful in Christianity, and on God's whim. Pardon the break in eloquence, but the rebellious streak in me says, 'That's kinda f*cked up.'

If it is just an emotion, I wonder that I've had it all along. I'm reminded of the Oracle at Delphi who had the words 'Know Thyself' and 'Nothing in Excess' above the door. Aren't emotions and thought intrinsically tied together? In my experience, your physiology, thoughts, and emotions are linked together. If you are sad, your thoughts are sad. Your posture suffers. Your body aches, and you can emotionally, as well as physically, feel upset. Likewise, what happens when you are happy? You continue a train of happy thoughts. You remember the good times. You appear more vibrant and upbeat, and perhaps you feel excited, or just calm and content. If hope is an emotion, what does it feel like? What does a person feel when he's filled with hope? What does he think (and not wishfully)? 'Nothing in excess' seems to warn us against too much of anything. Is there such a thing as too much hope?

Benjamin Disraeli once said, 'Action may not bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.' He may have a point. The root word for emotion is 'emote' by which spawns the words 'emotive' and 'motive', and 'motivation'. These are all active words. Perhaps Monsieur Disraeli was on to something. Any emotion could replace happiness, so I'll replace the word 'hope' so that we get 'Action may not bring hope, but there is no hope without action.' Are we trying to cut a difference between false hope and hope here? And by action, what action? The action of thought? Physical action? If we go along the premise that thought, emotion, and physiology are all intrinsically related, does not the very act of thinking beget a physical action, or at least the desire to physically act? And does the hopeful action not trigger more thoughts, more emotion, and more actions?

The Oracle leads me to believe that there are parts of myself and humanity that I've, up until now, put a blind eye against. If it's strictly a spiritual grace, then it may be something I won't receive since I'm not a Christian follower (unless my thoughts on spiritual grace are wrong - they could be. I'm no Christian theologian).

In addition to discussing the above, what is hope to you? What do you feel when you have hope? How do you define it? Do we really need hope? Why or why not?

-A

 

[cdal233]

To me, hope is confidence in your goal. To have hope, one must have a goal, and one must think it's possible to achieve it.

So for me, the question isn't 'what is hope?' but instead... 'what is confidence?'

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

[reserved for future insight]

 

[draon9]

Faith

 

[Betty Blue]

Well hope does have a place because sometimes against all odds people who would be considered to be beyond saving are suddenly saved. Lost people at sea is one example. adrift in the ocean... what can they do but to hope? And if they don't hope.... they will give up and die. Of course they may die waiting anyway, and many have but you have a higher chance of survival is your strive and hope. There has to be a reason to strive... and that is the hope, maybe it's not a huge hope... monetarily.... maybe it's just to get another bowl of food on the table... living a hand to mouth existence... these people do not 'know' they hope... and to stop hoping is to sign your own death certificate.


So hope is something that can not be described in other terms... it does have a place and it is not the same as will. Will is intent whereas to hope is to grasp onto an idea.

 

[violet_crown]

hope is a thing with feathers

 

[miss fortune]

optimistic wishes for future occurrences

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

optimistic wishes for future occurrences

It's a bounty, and not a curse, as the story of Pandora's Box would have it.

 

[Evee]

The most evil of evils.

 

[Hawthorne]

a key and a lock

 

[Pinker85]

I don't know what hope is exactly but I've been told by Sandra Bullock it floats, so similar to that soap, perhaps hope is a cleansing agent. Hope seems like the sliver of light that rests in the eye of a dying prisoner in a dark cell ... It's undefined in a way what that quality is but even in desolation there exists hope, even when it has no name or shape. Meh. I don't know ...

 

[Opal]

Hope is the refusal to abandon a dream. Sometimes visualizing (praying for, meditating on) something will help us pull it into reality.

 

[Destiny]

Hope is when you see a rainbow after a heavy downpour.

Hope is when you choose to believe in miracles even when the reality in front of you looks bleak. Hope is when you choose to always look at the bright side of things and never let setbacks in life get you down.

 

[Antsers]

Well hope does have a place because sometimes against all odds people who would be considered to be beyond saving are suddenly saved. Lost people at sea is one example. adrift in the ocean... what can they do but to hope? And if they don't hope.... they will give up and die. Of course they may die waiting anyway, and many have but you have a higher chance of survival is your strive and hope. There has to be a reason to strive... and that is the hope, maybe it's not a huge hope... monetarily.... maybe it's just to get another bowl of food on the table... living a hand to mouth existence... these people do not 'know' they hope... and to stop hoping is to sign your own death certificate.


So hope is something that can not be described in other terms... it does have a place and it is not the same as will. Will is intent whereas to hope is to grasp onto an idea.

I don't know why no one liked your post.

OP is trying to devalue hope. ENFPs are filled with hope. Lol.. There's value in everything even if you don't personally value it. This is like if an ENFP says how Ni is useless because all it does is idealize one vision, when there can be so many other possibilities. We're never going to value each other's dominant function. I used to be close to an INFJ, and even though we were friends for so long, I still didn't understand her. Anyway, I'm not sure why I'm writing this. Oh well.

 

[Kas]

Keeping the dream despite of uncertainty.

 

[SpankyMcFly]

The Space Marine ethos is to 'know' and have a plan otherwise you're wasting your resources gambling.

I kinda like it.

 

[Forever]

Dictionary Definition:

noun
1.
the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best:
to give up hope.
2.
a particular instance of this feeling:
the hope of winning.
3.
grounds for this feeling in a particular instance:
There is little or no hope of his recovery.
4.
a person or thing in which expectations are centered:
The medicine was her last hope.
5.
something that is hoped for:
Her forgiveness is my constant hope.
verb (used with object), hoped, hoping.
6.
to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.
7.
to believe, desire, or trust:
I hope that my work will be satisfactory.
verb (used without object), hoped, hoping.
8.
to feel that something desired may happen:
We hope for an early spring.
9.
Archaic. to place trust; rely (usually followed by in).
Idioms
10.
hope against hope, to continue to hope, although the outlook does not warrant it:
We are hoping against hope for a change in her condition.

Hope is also a person I know. (She's Filipino) It's the letters h-o-p-e combined into one. A misspelling of hoop. Green Christmas Color.
Epoch has hope in it (double meaning laced in.) Chicken scratch with meaning.

 

[LonestarCowgirl]

If it is a grace, it is given by God. Grace is not earned by any amount of good deeds. It is a gift from God through Jesus Christ. So says Christianity, anyway, and my beliefs are more aligned with Judaism.

Grace isn't a doctrine or theological topic; grace is Jesus. In the Bible, when Jesus is talking about grace, he is talking about himself. The law (the ten commandments) came through Moses; grace came through Jesus on the cross (John 1:17). Grace is unearned, unmerited, and undeserved [favor with God].

It makes me wonder if this grace is given to those only faithful in Christianity, and on God's whim. Pardon the break in eloquence, but the rebellious streak in me says, 'That's kinda f*cked up.'

What does faithful mean to you? To be perfect? ...because it's not possible. In the Old Testament, if you broke one commandment, you were guilty of breaking all of them. The law is death. Grace is life. Grace is freely given to sinners with childlike faith that all of their sins are forgiven by the blood of Jesus: past, present, and future. Guilt and condemnation stopped where the blood of Jesus was shed. You are completely and irrevocably forgiven, which means you can be bold, confident, and courageous to talk to God about your failings and your hopes (whatever those might be).

Supernatural things happen when one opens their heart and receives the gift of grace... such as, a transformation from the inside out where sin longer has dominion over them.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

I think hope is a cognitive thing primarily that gives rise to certain positive emotions. Particularly, a sense that something will turn out okay: your life, a test, a relationship. It's the ability to form a hypothetical, self-serving narrative.

It's probably easiest to identify when you experience a loss of hope. That's pretty much depression.

- - - Updated - - -

[reserved for future insight]

LOL

 

[LonestarCowgirl]

It's probably easiest to identify when you experience a loss of hope. That's pretty much depression.

I agree. I'm guessing everyone has experienced feelings of despair.

If it is a grace, it is given by God. Grace is not earned by any amount of good deeds. It is a gift from God through Jesus Christ.

I was just thinking about how grace imparts hope. The days when my heart feels troubled, I'll enter into the Lord's presence through music or just thinking about his kindness, goodness, and mercy; miraculously, I find peace.

In the natural, the future may look bleak and hold no reason for hope. I'd encourage people who feel that way to try meditating on God's grace and to invite the Holy Spirit to fill them with hope. I like the Romans 15:13 scripture that says, "May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

There's another beautiful verse, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12)... "Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy" (Psalm 90:14). In the last verse, "mercy" is the Hebrew word "hesed," which means God's grace. I think God is telling us to start our day being satisfied with his unfailing love for us, even in the midst of things we've been struggling with for a long time. He isn't looking to humiliate us or point out our failures when we approach him. God sees us as precious and as loved ones he knows intimately and loves infinitely.