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THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HOPE

23/01/2018 01:15:00 By Charles Samunenge

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THE state of affairs in the world we live in has robbed many people of the anchor of hope. Our young people are now living reckless and suicidal lifestyles.

Drug and alcohol abuse has become so common in this generation due to the deep sense of emptiness and hopelessness. Family failures, economical uncertainties, and political instabilities around the globe has immensely contributed to this state of affairs. This state of affairs has become the breeding ground for many forms of crime in our society.

Where there is no hope for change, there is despair, the feeling that all is wrong and nothing will change for better. Hopelessness can cause extreme sorrow, sadness and worry. One of the causes of erratic behaviour in society is the attitude of hopelessness. So many people have no certain course in life, roving about without a fixed destination. Usually this is because they have embraced the attitude of hopelessness. Hopelessness causes us to give up on life and give up on our dreams.

Certain problems of life have a way of filling our minds with hopelessness. Persistent sickness, financial problems, tumultuous relationships, can sometimes fill our hearts and minds with despair to the point of making us give up on life or embrace a mediocre approach to life. Even if life can seem so unfair sometimes, we must always refuse to embrace the attitude of hopelessness. We must keep hope alive no matter how dark the night and the circumstances in our lives. We must always look at life with eyes of confidence, believing and expecting that things will change for better. As a matter of fact, hope is a general feeling of confidence that things will get better in spite of negative present circumstances.

We must be courageous enough to face our hopelessness, doubts and fears. It is imperative that each one of us fight against hopelessness by embracing courage and faith. Courage is that quality of spirit and mind that enables one to face the difficulties of life with firmness, without fear or the fainting of heart. It is that strength and tenacity of mind that enables one to endure adversity with boldness, knowing that things will turn around someday. Webster’s Dictionary defines courage as, “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.”

We must aggressively believe that things are going to get better and change is going to come. It is cowardice to give up on your dreams due to present adverse circumstances. We must always fan the fires of hope by saying or speaking positive words to ourselves. When we marry courage to hope, it will inspire us and give us that inner strength and determination to hang in there, persevere and withstand negative situations of life.

Hope will protect us from committing moral, emotional or mental suicide. Hope and courage is what inspires the widow or divorcee to keep on keeping on, and face tomorrow with positive expectation. It is what keeps the nation together inspite of hardships and misunderstandings. Life is full of valley and desert experiences, hope and courage is required to sustain one through it all. Sometimes we may lose some of the battles of life, but hope will always inspire us to focus on ultimately winning the war. In the battles of life we may sometimes get wounded, but hope will inspire and empower us to look beyond our pain to the joy of fulfilling purpose and destiny.

We therefore must endeavour to eliminate doubts, fears and anything else that may try to rob us of hope and courage. Fear and anxiety are the major killers of hope and courage. Worry zaps our strength, affects our emotional and physical health, fills us with mental tension, and robs us of joy and peace of mind.

Worry must by all means be conquered because it weakens and distorts hope. Worry causes confusion, fear and clouds vision. Ironically worry is a misuse of our God given imagination. It is usually said that, ‘worry is the advance interest you pay on troubles that may never come.’

As a matter of fact you can come out of a negative situation of life if you refuse to stop hoping for the best , no matter how long it takes. It took so long to dismantle apartheid in South Africa, yet the people refused to give up because they believed and hoped that someday, their breakthrough will come.

The greatest mistake one could make is to allow circumstances to cause one to quit and give up on life.
We must acknowledge our mistakes and failures in life, and yet keep on going and hoping for the best. We are defined as failures in life when we stop trying.

Maxwell Malta said, “Remember you will not always win. Some days, even the most resourceful individual will taste defeat. But there is, in this case, always tomorrow- after you’ve done your best to achieve success today.’ Surely there is always tomorrow, don’t lose hope. Things may not have worked out accordingly in 2017, don’t lose hope, face 2018 with positive expectation.