The Illusion of Hope

It’s strange the ways through which hope works. We get these grand ideas and for a moment, we begin to see them as more than just concepts. Sometimes we even set out on a journey by which those ideas and hopes come to fruition- but not enough for them to be picked out our minds and put in the salad plate that is our lives.  It’s that moment when we realize the fruit hasn’t ripened enough to eat, or worse, has died in some way or another, that we lose hope in our grand schemes. Disappointment steals our ambitions and just like that, we are left with nothing but memories of dreams we had.

This applies to anything we have ever hoped for but were disappointed with at the end. Personal relationships, career goals, school, health, politics etc. are all areas in our lives in which we make the most human mistake and focus on our hopes instead of on reality. An even bigger mistake that we make is believing that our hopes ARE in fact reality. We become so focused on whatever dream we have that we begin to live our lives around it, plan around that dream as if it is already set in stone. Then reality hits you- and guess what? Your hopes and dreams are now nothing but a pile of disorganized events that you started but never finished.

I can tell you, and tell myself, to never hope for what’s unrealistic but that would do you no good because it’s usually the realistic goals that disappoint us in the end. I never hoped to sprout wings and fly then got disappointed when I woke up in the morning wingless. But I was very disappointed in that grade I got because I thought I worked hard enough for a better one. I’m disappointed that my personal relationships don’t go how I like them to, whether they are romantic or otherwise, even though I’ve put in effort for them to succeed. The effort we put into whatever goals we’re trying to achieve make us believe we’re entitled to success and that our hopes are merely a reflection of those dreams coming to fruition.  That is the mistake we make. We lean on a wall that has no real support and when we fall we are disappointed by the wall’s inability to hold our weight.

It is of utmost importance that we learn to live our lives with hope as our enemy. This is not to sound depressing or pessimistic. It’s to avoid pain and suffering. Work towards your goals, but realize that success has a 50% chance of occurring. A 50% is an F. If you think about it that way you will realize that no matter what you do or how hard you try, there are other forces that come into play that might deem your efforts uninfluential in the grand scheme of things. Yes, work hard, but don’t ever rely on success and definitely don’t plan your life around illusions.

C’est tout pour maintenant

And as always, peace and much love to y’all