sometimes against all logic we hope

==

“And sometimes, against all odds, against all logic, we hope.”

==

It’s not that people should confuse fantasy and reality, but reality has depths and dimensions that go far beyond what can be seen. And it is within the depths of the less than obvious, the unforeseen, and the invisible within which the illogical and the improbable resides. There resides hope.

While, technically, hope is a simple definition, realistically hope spans a spectrum. In my words there would be, on one end of the spectrum, the more heinous version bookend of ‘offering a fantastical unrealistic thought’ all the way over to the other bookend of ‘grasping for some glimmer of a semi-impossible reality.” And then everything in between. Hope has many dimensions and within any and all dimensions even a sliver of hope has an exponential value beyond its mere size. It is quite possible that is where hope becomes a little dangerous – that exponential value beyond its actual size. Even with a glimmer, hope can shine so bright it can blind you to the relentless onslaught of truths and realities which can make that hope false. Now, false hope is maybe even slightly more dangerous <if anything could be more dangerous than be blinded by reality> in two ways:

• Contrary to belief the most dangerous false hope is not the one which is complete fantasy; it is the type that actually has some reality embedded.

Yeah.

False hope is not always some fantasy.

Yeah.

False hope is not always something with “no knowable chance of coming to fruition.”

Yeah.

Someone who purposefully propagates a true fantasy, something unrealistic, isn’t false hope, it is propagating a lie. And exploiting a lie is a heinous act <but that is NOT false hope>.

But, to be clear false hope can be propagated not as some false promise or lie, but rather in a weird ‘well intended way.’ Say, for example, someone has been elevated to a position who is unqualified and untested, but has some tested competency. They sit down at their new desk with all the intentions to succeed and all the words to suggest everyone should believe they will figure it out and succeed. Well. Let’s say they have strong well intended hope that they will do the job and deliver what they promise. This is a trickier version of false hope. It is propagated from someone who quite possibly has some false beliefs with regard to their own capabilities, but true belief in a good objective.

• False hope is more likely to blind you on the important little shit than the meaningless bigger shit.

False hope inevitably drives someone to focus on the bigger more audacious, and less likely, objective. This translates into the fact that same someone is more likely to overlook the smaller more important shit that would actually have increased the odds of attaining the hopeful objective. How does that most often happen? You are more likely to make some smaller more impactful poor choices and decisions hanging on to the sliver of false hope like it is a security blanket from the dangers of the reality you know must be out there. By the way. That is the main difference between real hope and false hope – in the nuts & bolts aspects. Real hope, which truly has aspects of reality embedded within, actually permits you to navigate reality’s obstacles as you pursue the real hope of something. Real hope does not blind, it actually opens your eyes.

Look. In the end. My point is hope is hope. And unless someone is lying just to get everyone’s unrealistic hopes up – any hope is better than no hope. It is the power to allow us to do things beyond logic and the odds. To be clear, all actions should be determined by reason, logic, and practicality within a construct of strategic hope. That is the main Hope equation.  But hope is, well, hope. And it is hope for a reason. You want something better and at the same time you are not omniscient nor a future prognosticator therefore any and all hope is fraught with some potential falseness and some potential truth. That said. Hope, in and of itself, is and has always been an abstract concept and fortune, luck, hard work and preparation can guide someone toward hope or away from hope.  Hope is never, and I mean NEVER, representative of certainty. Therefore, to accept any hope, you have to accept the existence of possibilities.

But. Hope helps people believe they can overcome any and all obstacles and get shit done. Anyway. I read somewhere that the average person will meet 10,000 different people in their lifetime – 10,000 people with their own hopes waiting to be inspired by your hopes. And, maybe in that point, if that is what makes someone get out of bed in the morning and go out and try to do something good or even just try, well, that’s pretty powerful. Ponder.