Shannon's Journal Discussion Volume 3

[AlphaRomeo]

Shannon

I don't remember seeing you say it anywhere, but I believe add a way to incite hope for the future/present in LTU 5.5 would be a good inclusion if it isn't already.

Hope, while positive feeling, sounds a bit passive. It´s like you are hoping things to happen (or not to happen), but not really doing anything to make them happen. There are probably more empowering states than that which would be more useful in LTU. Then again, maybe that is just my own (limited?) perception of what hope means. My subconscious mind might go like "Let´s hope for the best...while I don´t actually have to DO anything" instead of "Let´s do everything we can to achieve our goals AND hope that all goes well...". Even with later statement, the hope sounds like not owning the thing.

Your statements about hope accurately describe the dismal state of the word as we know it today. Most people use hope as a synonym for "VAIN WISHING", which isn't the original way that the word hope was used in the English language. I run into this all the time when I try to use the word hope so I fully understand where you are coming from. That being said I want to describe what hope actually means as defined by the original intent of the word.

Around the late 1800's to early 1900's the meaning of the word hope slowly morphed into the concept of vain wishing from its original meaning which was closer to the intent of the word EXPECTATION. Hope was more often used as a clear definition and confident expectation of a state that is better in the future than in the present. Thus, it had the underlying effect of pushing and driving people to work hard, delay gratification among other things. The word hope more accurately dips into the believing side of humanity and says "yes, the life can and will get better". Think about the implications for a human that has a clear and defined belief that the future will be better than the present. The drive that hope can instill to push for a better future in a present that is mediocre, or worse, absolutely horrifying, is not to be dismissed.

When life sucks, when humanity is rearing its ugly side, when atrocities are everywhere or when the car breaks down or you don't get that job. Hope (a confident expectation that the future can be better than the present) can push you forward. In absence of hope, emotions get the better of you, you live for the present and its current pleasures, life's inevitable sufferings become too much to bear because "what's the point?". It's quite possible that hope could push subliminal users (us) to push past resistance and to wade into the unavoidable chaos that happens due to loss of stability when you are replacing old values and beliefs for new ones. Most people don't enter that territory willingly. But if you have hope (confident expectation) that past the fear of the unknown and belief restructuring process is a better tomorrow and its elevated to a point of surety, which is what hope does, the suffering and chaos suddenly has a point and meaning to it. No one wants to suffer needlessly and life can feel like needless suffering sometimes. But hope puts a goal of a better life beyond the present suffering, and that belief in a better tomorrow becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Thus, hope becomes a driver and a reason to face the present suffering with dignity and grace. It also understands that we are not perfect as we are have room for improvement and that improvement will make our life better and that we can and will get through this and life will be better on the other side.

That is hope!!!! Not vain wishing which is the self delusion of powerless people, but the expectation of the strong and strong willed.

Thank you for the detailed explanation, I appreciate it.