Why Hope Is The Key To Our Survival And Sanity
How to find hope in times of uncertainty
What does it take to keep going, to keep creating and producing, and to love compassionately, when confronted with situations and circumstances out of our control?
Solace and synchronization are necessary during times when it seems implausible that we will be able to reconstruct our world’s separated pieces into a balanced collective.
It requires our surrender to the effervescent illumination of the spirit.
This metaphysical incandescence lights our way through challenges and uncertainty so that we can find hope in the unknown and peace in acceptance.
It takes a willingness to deconstruct eternal questions, like what are we doing here and how can we make the world a better place?
How can we come together when the world is in a state of uncertainty and unknowing?
A remarkable social psychologist, psychoanalyst, and humanistic philosopher, Erich Fromm gives us clues in his brilliant inquiry into hope and the tenacity of the human spirit, titled The Revolution of Hope | Toward a Humanized Technology
Composed during a time when fear and hope were at an all-time high, Fromm narrowly escaped the Nazi regime in 1934 when he fled from Germany and then settled in the U.S., teaching at Columbia University.
“Fromm’s book was born out of the conviction that we are at the crossroads: one road leads to a completely mechanized society; the other to a renaissance of humanism and hope. It is based on the conviction that we can find the necessary new solutions with the help of reason and passionate love for life, and not through irrationality and hate.” Source
According to Fromm, humanity has a very special characteristic: a deep, unwavering hope that withstands time and never settles for oppression or violence. And even more importantly, we can always access this wellspring of hope; all we have to do is seek it out.
I’ve certainly found this to be true in my life. Hope is the essential anchor to which I cling in good times and in bad, because things are always changing and there is rarely a moment without hope.
Hope for better treatment of all people, regardless of color, creed, or origin.
Hope that someday the world will come together.
Hope for a kinder future for all species.
And hope for myself, hope that I have enough strength, fortitude, and courage to fulfill my dreams (writing and rescuing animals) without getting sidetracked by what I think society wants me to be doing.
As we now learn to maneuver these unsure and unpredictable times together while apart, it is my hope that 100,000 flowers of solace blossom and flourish, to lend their continual hope and possibility for the times ahead.
May we remember and recognize those who came before us who also faced uncertainty, and yet allowed it to light a brighter path for humankind and the earth.
May we likewise use uncertainty to bind us to the eternal and find the timeless treasure of change that leads to rebirth, greater strength, and a greater collective.
“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one.” ― John Lennon
With great love and gratitude, Aurora
