Hope…Stick to it!

In this brunch, I wanted to share something which I came across yesterday while watching a television show. There was this actor who was interviewed about his life while he was in jail, and something that he said which I could not relate to readily, made me reflect further on it.

Amongst many other questions, he was also asked about what kept him going while he was serving his sentence? What helped him to live through those tough times, and keep himself motivated?

In his response, he said that someone once told him to not hope for anything, and it is this letting go of the hope of getting released that made him sail through those tough times. There was loud applause for him, and even I acknowledge the strength that is needed to come out of something like that and start again without being shattered.

But somehow, I could not still accept that letting go of hope, can be a solution to anything in life. How can one not be optimistic, in order to avoid being pessimistic? Something was missing there in what he said, and that got me to reflect deeper into it.

And what came out was a clear understanding that it is not hope that needs to be let go of. Yes, if there is anything that we can do without in such a scenario, it can be called ‘expectation’. It is these expectations of something in the future, that make us see more of what is not in present. This can have the potential of making the present look lesser, bleak, or not desired.

One thing that I could relate to, to simplify my understanding of it, is the difference between ‘Hope’ and ’Expectation’, which can be the same as the difference between ‘ Gratitude’ and ‘Thankfulness’.

While hope is as future-oriented as expectation, it is also accompanied by a sense of being at peace with what we currently have. Hope looks at the future with a sense of faith that whatever is in present is the best place for that future to get created in time to come. The expectation on the other hand looks at the future to fulfill something which we feel we are deprived of in present. Expectation makes the present look insufficient and inappropriate, whereas hope makes one feel at home with is there while being optimistic about the future.

The same is the difference between gratitude and thankfulness, as gratitude is about being contended in whatever is there for us and being grateful in anticipation, whereas being thankful is based on being pleased only upon receiving something desirable. Gratitude resides in no void, whereas thankfulness looks for accomplishment as the basis of acknowledgment.

To me, it made sense and helped me keep grounded yet again. I hope you pick whatever is meant for you, from this read and make the best possible use of this, in whatever best way possible for you.

Read again what I wrote above. I said, ’I hope’, not ‘I expect’, and that is what makes it a happy brunch for me.

Take care! Stay Safe!

Love, RB.