Radical Hope-ness
Not just wishful-thinking
dear creators,
I’ve been wondering a lot about hope this month and why it might be taken as something lame, naive or delusional.
I’m guessing this has something to do with it being lumped in with wishful thinking. Something like, I hope I’ll get this or that or things will turn out the way I want. There’s a kind of desperation edge to this type of hope (that could be tied to fear) and it seems to leave a person off the hook, responsibility-wise.
I’m interested in a more radical hope that is a quality of being; one that propels me to demonstrate my appreciation of life despite my own struggles and while being painfully aware of and continuously informed about the suffering in and of the world.
I find this hope-ness best described by playwright, essayist, and poet Václav Havel (Oct. 5, 1936–Dec. 18, 2011), who was imprisoned by the Czechoslovakian State Security Police for speaking and acting out against the communist regime. The following words were published in ‘Disturbing the Peace’ (1990):
“The kind of hope I often think about (especially in situations that are particularly hopeless, such as prison) I understand above all as a state of mind, not a state of the world. Either we have hope within us or we don’t; it is a dimension of the soul; it’s not essentially dependent on some particular observation of the world or estimate of the situation. Hope is not prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced, and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons.
[…]
Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but, rather, an ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed. The more unpropitious the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper that hope is. Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.
In short, I think that the deepest and most important form of hope, the only one that can keep us above water and urge us to good works, and the only true source of the breathtaking dimension of the human spirit and its efforts, is something we get, as it were, from “elsewhere.” It is also this hope, above all, which gives us the strength to live and continually to try new things, even in conditions that seem as hopeless as ours do, here and now.”
Havel eventually went on to replace the dictatorship, serving as the first democratically elected president of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic. I don’t mention this to give the impression that this is about a form of hope that we need to overthrow a tyrannical government. Even if there’s some truth in this, I’m not interested in any directive. I’m curious about what may be vital for the human spirit to thrive.
One thing that stands out to me in Havel’s description, is that he takes into account the personal responsibility involved. For example, the “ability to work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance to succeed.” Contrary to only waiting around with a positive attitude, it’s about personally creating something that naturally propels us and sustains us regardless of external conditions. For me, time and energy devoted to what makes me feel alive is all the ‘good’ I need.
I get how that might sound self-serving or pleasure seeking but I’m not referring to anything superficial. Howard Thurman, who was an American author, philosopher, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader, may have said it best:
"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Doing what makes you come alive is a very radical thing! Countless obstacles keep most of the population striving and/or downtrodden. I really take notice when I’ve been in contact with someone who radiates authentic joy and vitality, because I seem to become more attuned to what makes me feel alive and I get a boost to commit to that. And once I’m deeply committed to my own internal source, I’m able to reclaim enough life-force that makes it possible to extend a helping hand to another without even thinking about it.
On the contrary, when I’m feeling exhausted by trying to keep up with societal expectations and demands (including the pressure to do something to fix the world), I don’t feel like I can support anyone else. I recently heard someone say, “Most bodies aren’t tired, they are held” and I had one of those bonnggg! sounding moments. Held— in defence, fear, shame, inadequacy, guilt, pettiness, whatever— the energy drain comes from narratives that perpetuate resistance to living. As Havel put it, “Either we have hope within us or we don’t; it is a dimension of the soul; it’s not essentially dependent on some particular observation of the world or estimate of the situation.”
Once in a while when I’m expressing this enlivened feeling of hope it’s met with some resistance. Such encounters taste a bit like, well you must never have suffered if you’re able to express joy at a time like this. I think it’s healing for people to support one another through shared experiences of distress and anxiety, but I’m not convinced it’s necessary to have to prove you’ve suffered by looking like you have. As I’ve already written elsewhere, properly grieving is a must— but then we need to find the strength to live and continually try new things.
Some of the things that make the most sense to me, regarding finding the strength to live, come directly through the body— singing, dancing, laughing, telling stories (to create!) the way humans have for eons. If such expression is genuinely heartfelt, isn’t it the ultimate defiance against any oppression because it nourishes, energizes and emboldens your entire being? I’m not draining myself in the battle if I’m oriented from my spirit versus fixated on an opponent (especially one that I can’t even specifically locate).
Wishing everyone some spontaneous bliss this long weekend!
Warmthness,
~Corrie