Some thoughts (and quotes) about Hope

Hoping and waiting

 I wanted to share some thoughts and quotes about hope because I think about hope often. Actually, I find it somewhat of a dichotomy.  Sometimes, all that keeps us going is hope that things will get better. In that case, hope can be a gift.  But hope can also hold us back in a way, as in false hope that keeps us waiting for something and not taking action.  

In Spanish, for example, esperar means both to hope and to wait.  Certainly, hoping usually involves waiting for something better to happen. Maybe, sometimes, waiting is the best thing we can do. But then again, waiting is not always the best tactic. Of course we can hope and take action at the same time!

Here’s a little hope for all you writers:

 On the other hand, this quote is about not having hope and just acting:

“A writer is a writer because, even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway.” – Junot Diaz (Author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, among others)

But if you keep going, doesn’t that mean you have hope that something better will come along if you persist?  Ugh–I’m probably thinking too much about this and consequently getting myself all confused.  

Even more houghts and quotes about hope:

Because I really like this poem, and also because it is certainly one of the more famous ones about hope, we’ll begin with this one —

BY EMILY DICKINSON

“Hope” is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words 

And never stops  at all.

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –

And sore must be the storm –

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –

And on the strangest Sea –

Yet – never – in Extremity,

It asked a crumb – of me.  

Hope is a subtle glutton–but what does that mean?

I especially love the first line of this poem–because it contains such a beautiful image about the strength and beauty of hope. In contrast, though, here’s another poem about hope, also by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson  

Hope is a subtle glutton;
He feeds upon the fair;
And yet, inspected closely,
What abstinence is there!
His is the halcyon table
That never seats but one,
And whatsoever is consumed
The same amounts remain.  
 

I’m not actually sure that I understand this one, but maybe “subtle glutton” is not something one would strive to be.

“Hope is a waking dream.”
― Aristotle
Finally, here’s a verse by Rudolf Steiner from Calendar of the Soul. In case you’re not familiar, this book is a series of verses for each week of the year intended to capture to soul mood of the week and season:

 I can, in newly quickened inner life,
  Sense wide horizons in myself.
  The force and radiance of my thought --
  Coming from soul's sun power --
  Can solve the mysteries of life,
  And grant fulfillment now to wishes
  Whose wings have long been lamed by hope.

Are you a good hope or a bad hope?

Again I’m not sure I understand this (and it is translated from German, which may add to the challenge). Actually, I often feel that way when I read Steiner, but it’s a springtime verse that seems to say that the power of human thought can solve the mysteries of life and grant fulfillment to wishes. It seems like hope has kept those wishes from being fulfilled–kept them earthbound.
“Whose wings have long been lamed by hope”  doesn’t really seem like the good kind of hope. Instead, it seems like the kind of hope that keeps a person waiting for something to happen instead of taking action.

Living with the question–what is hope?

As a result of this exploration, I don’t have an answer. Instead, I have another question to live with.  But that’s a good thing.  A few years ago, I went to a conference called, “Living with the question in an age of answers.”  Which leads me to one final (I promise) quote–one of my favorites and not about hope but about living with the questions by Rilke. 

We really do live in an age of instant answers. But we can cultivate a willingness to carry questions. It’s hard, but worth the effort.

 What do you think about hope? Do you have it? Does it help you? Does it hold you back? Do you have other thoughts and quotes about hope that inspire you? I’d love to hear your thoughts and quotes about hope!

If you need some inspiration to clear your head after reading about hope, check out my post about ee cummings poem–Here’s a dream to refresh you.

By the way, this post is brought to you by 
the with thanks to  the A to Z blog challenge