About Hope

Conventional wisdom tells us two things about hope:
* the SI unit of measurement is the Glimmer
* it springs eternal

So let's start there...

Hope is measured in Glimmers. Hence "there is a Glimmer of Hope". The plural is the same as the singular - in fact - there is only "Glimmer". I don't think there is ever more than a Glimmer. When the glimmer INTENSIFIES, then it becomes increasingly likely or probable. You're getting towards a PROBABILITY MATRIX, where at the extremes, Hope is the driving force. Once the Glimmer has been ignited, then it provides the necessary energy to drive things (whatever it is) forward. Glimmer of Hope provides the initial momentum in the reaction. I'm not sure it is a CATALYST - I think that is an external thing - the Hope comes from within.

...which segues perfectly into the second point. Energy cannot be created or destroyed - only its form can be changed. Not so with Hope. I do not believe that there is a finite amount of Hope in the universe - that is to say - I believe there is an infinite amount of Hope in the universe. This is because of where Hope comes from. It is from within the human spirit - it comes from inside us. I will be no more anatomical than that. You can't have your Hope extracted any more than you can have it transplanted, installed or augmented. You have a quantity of it, and there's always scope for more (or less).

You, or maybe just me, can't live without it. Existing without it is no problem at all - you just need to continue breathing, eating & drinking and sleeping from time to time. Existence is a low-level function that isn't too demanding of us - at least not in the first world - I'm not for a moment decrying the effort and energy it can take to just exist in the third world, for example.

I think there is a clear link between hope and living. In order to live, you need hope. You need other things too, but hope is certainly right up there on the list. When you take hope away, or probably more accurately, when hope is taken away, then what are you left with? The chances are, nothing much more than existence. You could perhaps say that hope is the oxygen of living.

Hope is very much a human quality - you can see in peoples eyes and their body language when hope is taken away. It has a demonstrable effect. In that sense, hope is worth fighting for. Hope IS worth fighting for - to keep it alive. To nurture it. It is the seed that could grow in to whatever it is that you are hoping for. If you loose hope - that Glimmer - then you will never get it, it will never happen. So you should always keep a Glimmer of Hope in your heart. It requires very little energy and their is no proven link to CO2 emissions or bad diseases.

You can loose Hope by other people taking it away from you, or from you just flat-out making the decision yourself. There is great pain and suffering when hope dies - especially when someone else takes it away from you. So self-preservation is another reason to keep it alive - and you should think long and hard before taking it away from someone else.

There is also Hoping Against Hope - that's another thing. This is when you keep your Glimmer alive after someone else has taken it away from you. There is a strong irrational link between Hoping Against Hope and Faith. You need Faith in order to keep the Glimmer alive.

The death of a Glimmer is a small death. In the worst-case scenario, it can lead to the larger death that destroys existence. In lesser cases, the death of hope just changes living to existing.

There's also a correlation between hope and importance to you. The more important something is, the stronger your Glimmer will be. Not necessarily the bigger, but the brighter. The Glimmer can be a very small very intense thing - it doesn't have to be a big bright blingy thing.

It's always worth keeping Hope alive - even if you're Hoping Against Hope.

Don't loose Hope. If you do, you'll never get back what you want or have lost.