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November 7, 2021: The Courage of Hope

Definition of Hope: NOUN*

1‘I had high hopes of making the Olympic team’ SYNONYMS: aspiration, desire, wish, expectation, ambition, aim, plan, dream, daydream, pipe dream, longing, yearning, craving, hankering

2‘most of us begin married life filled with hope’SYNONYMS: hopefulness, optimism, expectation, expectancy, confidence, faith, trust, belief, conviction, assurance

3‘he does see some hope for the future’ SYNONYMS: optimism, grounds for hope, promise, light at the end of the tunnel. ANTONYMS: pessimism https://www.lexico.com/synonyms/hope

Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.

—Jonas Salk

During challenging times, hope can be an elusive emotion, flitting like the sun through a cloud-filled sky, giving us glimpses of brightness and positivity, then to our disappointment, vanishing. Hope is when we envision a better future. It can be a powerful antidote to the pessimism so pervasive in our modern world. Hope can renew our senses of optimism and positivity, giving us the resilience we need to move forward. It takes courage to be hopeful in the reality of our everyday lives.

While hope is an emotion, so are the emotions of fear, worry, and stress, which can all lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and ultimately defeated. These negative emotions sap our energy and keep us from recognizing the joys and positives in our lives. But, hope gives us the courage to take the necessary steps we need to create a better tomorrow. Although courage is typically associated with situations of danger, to be hopeful, we need to accept and adapt the to changes in our lives, face our fears, and move forward in ways that allow us to live with confidence and a sense of joy. It’s a matter of choice in whether we choose to focus on the clouds of negativity, or seek the bright lights glimmering amongst the shadows.

Hope can help us through even the most challenging of times. Where do you find your courage to be hopeful? Whether it’s from your faith, learning from the lessons of nature, or from witnessing acts of kindness in others, hope can be empowering. If you need some inspiration, here are some quotes from throughout history, on both hope and courage to help you rediscover the lightness found in being hopeful. Which one resonates the most for you?

As always we welcome your thoughts and invite you to share it with someone who might find it meaningful. Stay healthy, safe and hopeful!

Best regards, Wendy Oellers-Fulmer

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” 

—Desmond Tutu. 

“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”

—Maya Angelou

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.” 

—Albert Einstein. 

“Fear never builds the future, but hope does.” 

—Joe Biden

“It’s always something, to know you’ve done the most you could. But, don’t leave off hoping, or it’s of no use doing anything. Hope, hope to the last!” —Charles Dickens.

“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.” 

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Hope is that thing inside us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us if we have the courage to reach for it and to work for it and to fight for it.” 

—Barack Obama.

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.“

Nelson Mandela

“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.” 

—Barbara Kingsolver.

“Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor – the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant ‘To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.’“

—Brené Brown

“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.”

—TOM BODETT

“Never lose hope. Storms make people stronger and never last forever.” 

― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

“There is a saying in Tibetan, ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.’

No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.” 

― Dalai Lama XIV

“Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there’s no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.” 

― Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke & Bone