Blog #81--Hope Is a Double-Edged Sword

I included discussions on progress and destiny in my book “It’s a Secret, So Pass It On: a Toolbox For Life.” For instance, I stated that progress is a misnomer since every action has an equal and opposite reaction. For every positive event we consider progress, there is a negative side effect that balances with it. That is why it is accurate to state that history repeats itself. We may see more complexity in our lives now than in the 20th century, but as a civilization we are repeating the wars and destructiveness of our predecessors.

Medicines that are said to be life-saving have side effects that could just as easily kill us or lead to long-term debility. Laws may help protect some people, but they also have weaknesses allowing law-breakers to continue their behaviors unabated. For every scientific discovery that helps us understand ourselves and our world better, there are also scientists who undermine that understanding by falsifying results or otherwise attacking the credibility of their scientific competitors. For every person who gains spiritual attainment, there are others who fall prey to the comfortable lies of false prophets.

Many of those who read my book lament that, if there is no progress, if we are unable to change our destiny whenever we wish, then there is no hope for fulfilling our dreams. They fear they might even lose the will to live. I understand completely how easy it is to believe this, but nothing could be further from the truth. If we are meant to overcome our problems and reach our goals, we will be given all the hope we need to help us endure the down times. The main thing we need to do is distinguish between hope and wishful thinking.

Our lives are composed of a series of up and down cycles. We have good days and bad, good years and bad. It is easy to be hopeful when we sense ourselves on an upward path. Things begin to fall into place more readily than usual, and each improvement encourages more hope. This is a real phenomenon, and it is short-term progress. But when we reach the pinnacle of that particular cycle, there is nowhere to go but down. We may try to fight against a downturn, but we all eventually lose our lofty positions and die. Progress is a temporary phenomenon.

Likewise, if things are going badly for us, it is easy to lose hope. But if we are meant to survive the low cycle, deep inside us we still have hope. We sense that eventually things will balance out, and we can begin to have success again. In these cases, we are literally analogous to the Phoenix rising from the ashes. Our wishful thinking wants that process to begin sooner rather than later, but we must have the ashes before we know without doubt there is nowhere to go but up. Once that happens, hopefulness becomes knowingness as our cycle begins its inevitable climb.

If we can accept the ebb and flow of life, like riding on a boat that is rising and falling through endless waves, we can prevent the extreme mania of success and depression of failure. We can feel more at ease and balanced as we respond to all the positive and negative details of our lives. We can all hope for that result, if we are willing to work at it.

Knowing the difference between what we can and cannot have is imperative for our peace of mind. Unfortunately, many of us hope for things we cannot possibly have in our lives. If we expect our doctors to care more for our welfare than their profit margins, good luck with that. Some do, but many don’t. If we assume our government leaders will support the survival needs of the majority rather than the self-interests of their largest campaign contributors, we are likely spitting into the wind. If we think our government and military tell the whole truth, even once in awhile, we are not basing our beliefs on hope but wishful thinking.

There is sufficient reason for hope without resorting to wishful thinking. This is especially true for those like me who are confident we live on after the death of our bodies. Of course, it also helps if we do not fall prey to those who try to scare us into thinking we are all meant for eternal damnation if we don’t behave a certain way all the time. If we are doing the best we can, that is all that is expected of us.

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