228 – Hope

Click the video above for several minutes of background waves while reading.

I like to walk on the beach. It is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

Some days I come to the beach knowing my topic – but other times I begin hoping something comes to my mind. Even with a topic, I hope thoughts come to me, and then coalesce into something coherent. I chuckle because this thought leads me to my topic for the day.

Each day starts with many hopes: hoping to walk on the beach, hoping for no rain, hoping for pleasant temperatures, hoping for a reasonable wind, and hoping for relatively level, packed sand that is great for walking.

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Each day starts with hopes as a wish, desire, or aspiration – just like a child hoping to find a certain gift in that wrapped present. Hope can be a child’s dream of becoming a fireman or soldier, playing college basketball, completing a multi-day bicycling journey, and more. 

My daily hopes as a snowbird at the beach are no different than my hopes when I was young – hopes as wishes, desires, and aspirations – but hope can also be an ambition, anticipation, craving, or desire. However, as we get older, I imagine realization tempers hope.

But this isn’t the hope I’m thinking about today because I’m pondering hope as trust, belief, confidence, and expectation. Hope may be one of those words we frequently misuse, so I hope that doesn’t happen here – but I’m confident it will because it already happened.

I think of hope in a positive light. Even in a time of darkness, we hang onto hope. When facing challenges in life, such as bitterness, deceit, despair, division, and fear, hope is the guiding light that helps us survive. We grab and hold onto hope because hope is a promise and a sense of optimism. 

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I think of hope asking nothing from us, and we ask nothing from hope because it is a special trust – a reliance. Hope provides the light of seeing a positive tomorrow because hope is a force that gives us persistence and courage.

I think of hope as something we depend on, but hope also involves patience. I think of surfers waiting for waves. They aren’t hoping for the big wave because they patiently wait to catch the right wave at the right time.

I think of hope as a feeling that time will take care of us because hope cannot correct yesterday, but it can influence tomorrow.

I think of hope as a pillar of humanity – such as receiving a smile from a friend or a stranger because smiles express hope. Hope is security and a sense of being – even Linus’s blanket. 

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I think hope is a guiding force that everything will work out because hope is difficult to abandon. I think of the many Ukrainians and others in conflict relying on hope – hope for their country – hope for themselves – hope for their family – hope for fellow citizens – hope for future generations.

I think hope is a powerful sense involving peace, dreams, imagination, memories, desires, wishes, expectations, and the light at the end of the tunnel. But if we don’t have hope, do we have anything? Then again, some prepare for the worst but hope for the best.

Hope is a sunrise – starting a new day – giving each of us a fresh start to lead us to a positive tomorrow. Sunrise is the great Refresh button for the new day – a time promising a clean slate.

Hope involves persistence. I think of those fishing that I pass daily on the beach. Men and women with chairs, food, and beverages as they patiently watch their poles for much of the day. They are also very patient. Through their good days and the days of only a few nibbles, hope doesn’t waiver. Maybe there is a relationship between hope and the bait on the hook.

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Hope is not an expectation – not a conviction – not necessarily optimism. Hope involves many emotions – from frustration to exhilaration – laughter to crying – and anticipation to frustration.

Hope is something we need for happiness, confidence, and security. Perhaps this is the hope that theologians ponder. 

As my walk ends, I admit hope wasn’t as easy of a topic as I hoped. Then again, I know there is much more to say about hope, and I anticipate another essay based on comments. On the other hand, I tried because I like to walk on the beach. It is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

I’m linking to Jo’s Monday Walk as she takes us a different way to Querenca. Tell her I sent you.

See what other bloggers have posted about Hope

• Some Thoughts about Hope (an essay)
• Hope (a poem)
• Hope: A Journey of Life (a poem)
• I Am Writing about Hope (a poem)
• Hues of Hope (a poem)
• Warrior Woman (a poem)

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