{"id":5553,"date":"2023-08-03T08:00:45","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T07:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/?p=5553"},"modified":"2023-08-03T08:43:28","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T07:43:28","slug":"the-meaning-of-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"The Meaning of Hope\u00a0<\/span>Julia Thorley<\/span>"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019m struggling with the concept of hope at the moment. Is it an ideological con? My dictionary defines the verb \u2018to hope\u2019 as: to cherish a desire that something good will happen with some expectation of success or fulfilment. I might as well just cross my fingers.<\/span><\/p>\n

We hear a lot about the value of mindfulness, of living in the moment and being present. Broadly speaking, this means neither dwelling on the past nor waiting for the future. It means being conscious of the here and now. Where\u2019s the space for hope in this? Surely being motivated by hope takes us out of the present. How can I focus on what\u2019s happening in front of me right now if I\u2019m looking to the future, even \u2013 or perhaps especially \u2013 when I\u2019m anticipating a better future?<\/span><\/p>\n

American psychologist C R Snyder developed Hope Theory in which he said there are three components associated with hope: having goal-oriented thoughts; developing strategies to achieve goals; and being motivated to expend effort to achieve goals. An individual\u2019s belief in their ability to realise these components determines the likelihood they will develop a sense of hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

All well and good, but that still doesn\u2019t persuade me that hope is the best way forward. Nor do I have any truck with the Panglossian philosophy that this is the \u2018best of all possible worlds\u2019. Far from demonstrating optimism, this over-cheerful view is actually quite pessimistic. It implies that nothing can be improved, which means at best things will stay as they are and at worst they\u2019re going to deteriorate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hope is the basis of many faiths, of course. I mean no disrespect, but the prospect of \u2018sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life\u2019 doesn\u2019t fill me with optimism for <\/span>this<\/span><\/i> life.<\/span> Some days, when there\u2019s yet another environmental outrage or another political scandal, things seem pretty hope<\/span>less<\/span><\/i>. I catch myself thinking, why bother? Nothing changes no matter what I do. We\u2019re fighting a losing battle against apathy, ignorance and denial. Give up and all optimistic thoughts are likely to be replaced by negative thoughts. Then it\u2019s a small step to sadness and depression.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Online yoga teacher Adriene Mishler and others have described hope as a muscle. You have to keep using it or it goes flabby. Is that where I\u2019m going wrong? It takes work to stay optimistic when you feel everything is getting worse. It\u2019s easier to admit defeat; cynics would say that\u2019s what \u2018they\u2019 want us to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet simply to surrender to the inevitable is unthinkable to those of us who are rebelling and campaigning for a better world. Perhaps I should start with hope and let it motivate me. Maybe without hope it\u2019s impossible to imagine progress or change. Maybe it\u2019s hope that will enable me to envisage what could be achieved if only I can keep going. Perhaps it could help me to set the achievable goals that will lead me towards the bigger wins.<\/span><\/p>\n

OK, I\u2019m coming round to the idea that hope might be important. Perhaps after all it can reduce feelings of impotence and helplessness, lower my stress levels and give me a reason to get out of bed. It could switch on the light at the end of the tunnel and help me regain control over the situations that make me despair.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m willing to concede, then, that hope isn\u2019t pointless, but it isn\u2019t enough on its own. You can say that you hope the government will do the right thing. You can hope that people will use their voice to speak out against injustice and immorality. You can hope that it\u2019s not too late to save the planet from environmental catastrophe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, hope alone won\u2019t work. It\u2019s not enough to hope for the best. By all means anchor yourself in hope; you can call it faith, or trust, or belief in humankind. Hope is a starting point, and it can fuel our rebellion and our fight for a better, more sustainable future for everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the bottom line is that we must also act.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Julia Thorley is <\/span><\/i>a Kettering-based editor and writer, and author of several fiction and non-fiction books, and articles for a wide range of traditional and online publications. She is a supporter of the aims of Extinction Rebellion and an activist on many local issues.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Call to action<\/b>: <\/span>Next time you catch yourself saying “I hope\u00a0<\/span>X<\/span><\/i>\u00a0happens,” ask yourself what action you can take to work towards that goal, rather than just wishing on a star. And then read Rebecca Solnit’s,\u00a0Hope in the Dark<\/em><\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  I\u2019m struggling with the concept of hope at the moment. Is it an ideological con? My dictionary defines the verb \u2018to hope\u2019 as: to cherish a desire that something good will happen with some expectation of success or fulfilment. I might as well just cross my fingers. We hear a lot about the value […]<\/p>\n

Read More… from The Meaning of Hope\u00a0<\/span>Julia Thorley<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":5552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,1],"tags":[1135,591,9,1137,1134,1136],"yoast_head":"\nThe Meaning of Hope\u00a0 - Writers Rebel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Meaning of Hope\u00a0 - Writers Rebel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  I\u2019m struggling with the concept of hope at the moment. Is it an ideological con? My dictionary defines the verb \u2018to hope\u2019 as: to cherish a desire that something good will happen with some expectation of success or fulfilment. I might as well just cross my fingers. We hear a lot about the value [...]Read More... from The Meaning of Hope\u00a0Julia Thorley\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Writers Rebel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/writersrebel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-03T07:00:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-03T07:43:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Julia-Thorley-head-shot.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1928\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2013\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sandy Winterbottom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@XrRebel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@XrRebel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sandy Winterbottom\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sandy Winterbottom\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/90a59b8db45de490240c1a7f4b9c1fb6\"},\"headline\":\"The Meaning of Hope\u00a0Julia Thorley\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-03T07:00:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-03T07:43:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/\"},\"wordCount\":797,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Climate Action\",\"climate emergency\",\"hope\",\"Hope in the Dark\",\"Julia Thorley\",\"Rebecca Solnit\"],\"articleSection\":[\"read\",\"Uncategorized\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/\",\"name\":\"The Meaning of Hope\u00a0 - Writers Rebel\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-03T07:00:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-03T07:43:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Meaning of Hope\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/\",\"name\":\"Writers Rebel\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Writers Rebel\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2020-07-21-at-2.25.35-PM.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2020-07-21-at-2.25.35-PM.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":137,\"caption\":\"Writers Rebel\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/writersrebel\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/XrRebel\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/90a59b8db45de490240c1a7f4b9c1fb6\",\"name\":\"Sandy Winterbottom\",\"url\":\"#molongui-disabled-link\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Meaning of Hope\u00a0 - Writers Rebel","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Meaning of Hope\u00a0 - Writers Rebel","og_description":"  I\u2019m struggling with the concept of hope at the moment. Is it an ideological con? My dictionary defines the verb \u2018to hope\u2019 as: to cherish a desire that something good will happen with some expectation of success or fulfilment. I might as well just cross my fingers. We hear a lot about the value [...]Read More... from The Meaning of Hope\u00a0Julia Thorley","og_url":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/","og_site_name":"Writers Rebel","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/writersrebel\/","article_published_time":"2023-08-03T07:00:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-08-03T07:43:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1928,"height":2013,"url":"http:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Julia-Thorley-head-shot.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Sandy Winterbottom","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@XrRebel","twitter_site":"@XrRebel","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sandy Winterbottom","Estimated reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/"},"author":{"name":"Sandy Winterbottom","@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/90a59b8db45de490240c1a7f4b9c1fb6"},"headline":"The Meaning of Hope\u00a0Julia Thorley","datePublished":"2023-08-03T07:00:45+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-03T07:43:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/"},"wordCount":797,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["Climate Action","climate emergency","hope","Hope in the Dark","Julia Thorley","Rebecca Solnit"],"articleSection":["read","Uncategorized"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/","url":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/","name":"The Meaning of Hope\u00a0 - Writers Rebel","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-08-03T07:00:45+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-03T07:43:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/the-meaning-of-hope\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Meaning of Hope\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/","name":"Writers Rebel","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#organization","name":"Writers Rebel","url":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2020-07-21-at-2.25.35-PM.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2020-07-21-at-2.25.35-PM.jpg","width":300,"height":137,"caption":"Writers Rebel"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/writersrebel\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/XrRebel"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/#\/schema\/person\/90a59b8db45de490240c1a7f4b9c1fb6","name":"Sandy Winterbottom","url":"#molongui-disabled-link"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writersrebel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Julia-Thorley-head-shot.jpg?fit=1928%2C2013&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5553"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5553"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5558,"href":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5553\/revisions\/5558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersrebel.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}