Hope in a Hopeless Place

Hope is when we have an expectation or desire for something to happen. The word hope ignites positivity in our hearts and minds, gives us a ray of light to escape the cycle of darkness. It suggests that there is something worth looking forward to, such as true love, good grades, a good job, a dream house, or simply the hope that the coronavirus fades away from our lives and the second half of 2020 takes a U-turn. But, it’s a challenging thing to find hope when the world seems like a gloomy place. This year in particular has given us many heartbreaking moments, and it is very easy to lose heart. We have lived through Australian bushfires, tensions between the US and Iran, riots in Delhi, new rape cases in India, Ukrainian flight crashes, several famous deaths including Kobe Bryant, Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor, and of course the global pandemic putting a pause to everyone’s lives (literally and figuratively). I can go on forever...but I don’t want to dash everyone’s hopes.

I want to live in hope of something better. I want to look forward to painting a perfectly non-perfect picture of my future. Time and again, I see myself using the word “hope” in my daily conversations. “Hope things get better/ hope you change for the better/ hope you visit me soon/ hope I could get out of the house” etc.. It’s strange how hoping and imagining things makes me feel better. It ignites a positive zeal even though things are going haywire. When we are heartbroken, we still hope that a better relationship comes along, we still hope to meet our soul-mate even though we don’t have the energy to jump into another relationship. Ultimately, we hope we can heal our broken hearts and find light again. At the end of the day, in the midst of murky times, we want to remember the good times and our loved ones. Everything happens for a purpose, and this too shall pass. Humans are known for their adaptive qualities, and adapting to times like these is a skill we have. It is hard, but don’t stop hoping. It’s all about healing, flourishing and becoming.