Got Hope?

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

If we won’t make peace with our enemies, we destroy each other.

B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One, Old Faithful,

I use the word “old” hesitantly, for you are ever new to us. But you are older than anything else I can imagine. Equally unimaginable is your faithfulness. The geyser bearing that name will wear out long before you do. Regular and reliable it may be, but you show us more and shower us with much more than hot water. We can hardly begin to list what you provide on both a regular and an irregular basis.

You are faithful in another sense, too. When we stray and follow other gods, you remain true to your promises. We might adulterate the relationship; you never do. You fulfill the other meaning of the word as well. You are full of faith. You believe in your creation. You believe in us collectively and individually. You say we have potential for good, promise for achieving great things. You say we can cherish Earth and one another in ways that are wholesome and worthy of your attention. We seem to have our doubts about all of that, but you are faithful.
Amen

C. Un-quoting Jesus:

“Eat hearty, boys. You never know, it could be your last supper.”

[Not what He said after blessing the Passover Meal.]

D. Blog: Despair and Hope

We live between despair and hope. We speak of pessimism and optimism, or being negative or positive, glass half-empty of half-full, but these do not convey the same depth of meaning. They seem superficial and basically contrived or chosen attitudes. Nor do they hold the same awareness of life’s darker realities.

At times I despair over the human situation on Earth. At times I see no way out of the terrible systems we have devised to govern and support the overly multiplying peoples of Earth. In those times, I am not simply pessimistic, negative or seeing the glass as half-full; I despair. I see no realistically favorable future for humanity.

At other times I have great hope for humanity. Our creativity, inventiveness, capacity for caring, increasing care for Earth and all its life forms, our global communication – these give me a hope that is greater than a simple optimistic outlook, more than seeing life through rose-colored glasses. Human life can and will know a sustainable future.

Hope inspires action, taking steps to bring its vision into being; the positive attitude or optimistic outlook are passive stances. Obama’s right to speak of hope.