Hope – Bubbles in the Brain

It’s a powerful thing, hope. It makes us keep fighting when we feel like it isn’t worth it, just in case it is, or try a new medication when there is no guarantee it will work. Sometimes you hate it, because you are terrified about the despair you feel when your hope isn’t borne out. I think this makes hoping brave, because we do it despite that fear.

In the spirit of hoping, I’ve been writing a quote about hope in my diary each day this week. I want to share them with you to start this year off with some positivity, because what says “hope” more than a new year?

1) “I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.” – Neil Gaiman

Now, being me, I do have a problem with this quote, because I think it veers close to “you have to do something to mean something” territory, which I think it just wrong. People have inherent value. However, it does very much embody the spirit of the new year, which is that sense of “now I will achieve something.” Taken with a grain of spoonie salt, I also think it is a valuable reminder that we never stop learning, and there is value in each lesson (even the ones that suck to learn). It is an encouragement to do something – anything – to break through the ennui that can come with long-term pain and isolation. And ultimately, I think it places values on our battles and our victories, even the seemingly tiny ones, like getting out of bed when we didn’t think we could. So, whilst I don’t necessarily want to make mistakes, I do hope I do enough that mistakes are a possibility.

2) “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, “it will be better.”” – Alfred, Lord Tennyson

I love me some Tennyson. This quote just embodies everything I feel just before the new year comes – this one has to be better. Maybe it won’t be, but hope thinks it will.

3) ““Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –

And sore must be the storm –

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –

And on the strangest Sea –

Yet – never – in Extremity,

It asked a crumb – of me.”

– Emily Dickinson

Admittedly this is one the longer side, and a poem, but I love Emily Dickinson, and I love this portrayal of hope. It talks about the value of hope itself: its persistence, its ability to survive even the worst storms, how it comforts us, and how it is always with us.

4) “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu

I don’t think my hope is necessarily as strong as this at times, but at least it is never less than “thinking there possibly could be light at some point.” That’s a lot less catchy, though.

5) “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

This one will be most applicable for my religious and spiritual readers, but I couldn’t leave it out because for me it is such a good descriptor of my faith in hard times. The Bible is pretty clear that this life is going to be full of hardships and woes, sometimes catastrophically so, and often without any reason that we can see. However, the Bible is also clear that these things do end, and at the conclusion of it all is the reason Christians have hope at all – Jesus and a new, better life with him. During my darkest times, even if the rest of my life looks like a barren, careerless, pointless, painful mess, at least I can set my eyes on that.

6) “There never was a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.” – Bernard Williams

Night is so often used as a metaphor to explain away our problems – we all have to go through dark periods, darkest just before the dawn, etc etc – but what I like about this quote is that it isn’t saying sunrise brings a solution. It’s just saying that hope is persistent. Even when problem after problem tells us we shouldn’t hope, it comes back like the dawn each time.

BONUS QUOTE:

There have only been six days since the new year but you get a bonus one anyway because I’m benevolent like that.

7) “Though hope is frail, it’s hard to kill.” – When You Believe, The Prince of Egypt

If you haven’t seen the movie Prince of Egypt, you should. The soundtrack is great and it is the grittiest, most realistic portrayal of Exodus I’ve ever seen. Far more so than the movie Exodus, which I thought was fairly bad. I digress.

This song is sung as the Hebrews flee Egypt. Their people have been slaves for generations. The Egyptians have been cracking down on them, raising the quotas of bricks they must produce and reducing their materials. One random who used to be a prince has shown up out of the desert and said, “worry not, pals, God’s going to release you.” They’ve had no hope for years, and this is a pretty slim one. Now it’s come true and they are heading out into the desert with only what they can carry, amongst them children and the elderly, and they will soon have half the Egyptian army on their tail. It’s a time with not a lot of hope, but it’s all they’ve got, and the song is just excellent. I’ll post the lyrics below, but first watch this incredibly low-resolution video to hear it and see it in all it’s glory:

If you want a faithful lyrical version, Celtic Woman do a lovely one. If you want a less faithful one, Mariah and Whitney also have a version.

Lyrics:

[MIRIAM]
[Verse 1]
Many nights we’ve prayed
With no proof anyone could hear
In our hearts a hopeful song we barely understood
Now we are not afraid
Although we know there’s much to fear
We were moving mountains long before we knew we could

[Chorus]
There can be miracles when you believe
Though hope is frail it’s hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe

[TZIPPORAH]
[Verse 2]
In this time of fear when prayer so often proved in vain
Hope seemed like the summer birds
Too swiftly flown away
Yet now I’m standing here

[MIRIAM]
Now I’m standing here

[TZIPPORAH]
With heart so full I can’t explain

[MIRIAM & TZIPPORAH]
Seeking faith and speaking words I never thought I’d say

[Chorus]
There can be miracles when you believe
(When you believe)
Though hope is frail it’s hard to kill
(It’s hard to kill)
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
(You can achieve)
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe

[Bridge]
[HEBREW CHILDREN]
Ashira l’adonai; ki gaoj ga-ah
Ashira l’adonai; ki gaoj ga-ah
Mi chamocha baelim adonai
Mi kamocha nedar ba kodesh
Nachita v’chas-d’cha am zu ga-alta
Nachita v’chas-d’cha am zu ga-alta
Ashira, ashira, ashira

Ashira l’adonai; ki gaoj ga-ah
Ashira l’adonai; ki gaoj ga-ah
Mi chamocha baelim adonai
Mi kamocha nedar ba kodesh
Nachita v’chas-d’cha am zu ga-alta
Nachita v’chas-d’cha am zu ga-alta
Ashira, ashira, ashira!

[Chorus]
[ALL]
There can be miracles when you believe
Though hope is frail it’s hard to kill
(It’s hard to kill)
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
(You can achieve)
When you believe, somehow you will
Now you will
You will when you believe
(When you believe)

[MIRIAM & TZIPPORAH]
You will when you believe.

So, go forth into the new year with fresh hope, my friends. You never know what this one holds.

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