Hope Anyway

Hope sounds simple: a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one’s life.
Not quite as easy as rainbows and kittens and unicorns, is it?
Nietzsche called hope “the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of man.” And then there are the opening lines of Woody Allen’s parody, “My Speech to the Graduates,” which read:
“More than at any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness.
The other, to total extinction.
Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”
And yet we continue to hope to heal, to feel better, to feel better about ourselves, our families, our bodies. To focus on other good and healthy things. To believe in a future that is good and right.
How? How do you learn to hope?
We learn by practicing. By people with other people who are hopeful. By practicing a spiritual tradition. By creating. By making a difference. By laughing. By knowing tomorrow is a new day full of potential. By knowing, right at this moment, much of life is good.