Hope...

“Never give up hope”. Why? Hope is actually detrimental to the human psyche, torturous even. Hope is “the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best” (dictionary.reference.com). Therefore, hope can be defined a feeling of want for that which one has no control. Hope sits insidiously in the far reaches of the mind.

Perhaps the clichés developed because of the belief that one must keep a positive attitude to prosper. However, hope will develop negativity if allowed to fester for a long time. “Hope that springs eternal” can cause anger and despair. “A glimmer of hope” might warrant false expectations. Hoping against hope may lead to debilitating disappointment.

Hope that springs eternal is a great burden to carry. Eternal hope reaches its tentacles into the far reaches of the psyche. It is always there waiting. Sometimes hope will fade allowing one to carry on but it always lingers. Eternal hope is a merry-go-round of eternal let down. It pops up when least expected almost as a reminder that one has no control. The glimmer appears and then reality snuffs it out.

The positive “sunny” folks will think that this is defamation of hopes character. However, I contend that if allowed to fester, hope will cause insidious damage throughout one’s life.

Using a person whose parent abandoned them when young as an example. That person travels through life with a hope of reconciling with their parent. The hope sticks with him or her no matter what age. Because the hope stays but is never satisfied, that person also carries anger. The feeling can be related to always trying to reach for something but not quite grasping it. A lifetime of that reaching can cause extreme frustration.

The question is how does one live and manage that hope? What happens when the hope dies completely without resolution? Using the above example, what if the parent of our abandoned friend dies and our friend is never able to resolve the lifetime of grasping. Now our friend has a gaping wound where hope used to reside and anger that can never be resolved. Why would anyone want to retain hope?

Sadly, hope is a package deal with all other human emotions. It sneaks in unbidden and hovers in the depths of the mind. Hope against hope you do not carry it with you for too long, it is a tainted emotion with a great deal of weight. Sometimes it is good to give up hope and just let it drift away.