Devaluing Hope

[ThirtyThree]

Nearly every day, I hear or read something about the importance of having hope. Such as how hope got so and so through such and such, or how hope is the most important thing one can have. Why is this? Why is hope so valuable? Why can some people not survive without it? What is wrong with being realistic?

Most individuals I know also cling to hope. The hope of winning the lottery, for example. The belief that something good has to happen soon. Why? Why does something good have to happen soon? What is more, why do these people think that something good is only what they consider good, like large amounts of money? It is as if these people can not seem to accept that sometimes, life is just challenging. Things happen and no matter how many bad experiences one has in a row, it does not make one somehow due for good ones.

Why can people not just see life as what it is? Why can people not simply live and take the good with the bad? Yes, life can hurt. Experiences can break us, and if we survive, the chances are we will be stronger for it. Then, some would suggest that believing experiences will make one stronger, is having hope. No, I see it as realistic. While it is possible life could simply break us, and we would end up a suicide statistic, why must there be all this focus on praying, pleading to what ever deity one believes in, for a better life?

It makes no sense, really. If one serves a deity, why would they ask that deity for a better life? Surely their experiences, no matter how trying, are their deity's will? Then, hope is not exclusive to people of faith. I have observed Atheists engaging in it also. Why? No, seriously. Why?

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

If one serves a deity, why would they ask that deity for a better life? Surely their experiences, no matter how trying, are their deity's will?

Sorry just noticed this is in a DIR that I'm not a member of. I have deleted my comment!

 

[Kapalika]

There's hope, false hope and stupid hope.

Without wishing for something better when they are in a bad situation, one has little motivation to get through the day. The problem becomes when their hope is unrealistic (winning the lottery) or they don't do anything about it.

I don't see any issue of hope within itself, it's just how far some people take it at times. People, especially occultists, tend to make the mistake that simply wishing for something will make it happen. It's part of the religious wiring unfortunately that pervades most if not all of us.

 

[ThirtyThree]

There's hope, false hope and stupid hope.

Without wishing for something better when they are in a bad situation, one has little motivation to get through the day. The problem becomes when their hope is unrealistic (winning the lottery) or they don't do anything about it.

I don't see any issue of hope within itself, it's just how far some people take it at times. People, especially occultists, tend to make the mistake that simply wishing for something will make it happen. It's part of the religious wiring unfortunately that pervades most if not all of us.

Care to explain false hope?

 

[VioletVortex]

Hope is valueless self deceit. It encourages helplessness. It's okay to hope that something will happen, but people constantly wallow in hope to the point of it being counterproductive. They hope so much that they don't even try to achieve what they are hoping for.

 

[Kapalika]

Care to explain false hope?

It's a common expression meaning to tell someone there is hope even when there isn't any to have. For example a doctor saying someone might live when there is no chance the will (which is unethical to do for a doctor they are forced to tell you the realistic odds ect). Sometimes people give themselves false hope such as saying "we can find a way to fix this" when they are totally, totally screwed and it's virtually impossible to do anything about it even if possible.

Hope is valueless self deceit. It encourages helplessness. It's okay to hope that something will happen, but people constantly wallow in hope to the point of it being counterproductive. They hope so much that they don't even try to achieve what they are hoping for.

Well ya anyone can take something to an extreme. Conversely someone can do nothing to fix a fixable situation because they feel there is no hope, so it cuts both ways.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Hope does seem rather pointless, yes. It's only action that really matters and even that doesn't mean anything will change for the better for you. I've tried both in my life and both have ended up equally as pointless. Hope all you want, but you still might be hit by a car and splattered over the concrete next time you go out. You can even play by all the rules and still end up splattered across the sidewalk by some idiot. Etc.

 

[ScottySatan]

Hope makes people high.

 

[Liu]

Maybe we have different definitions of what we mean by hope, but of course you can hardly survive without hope. Hope, being the opposite of despair, means to me "believing that it's possible that x might perhaps happen". It's not believing that it will happen, but considering it possible and not giving up all hope on it. If you have given up all hope on x to happen then that's the dogmatic belief in my opinion, the believe that x certainly won't happen.

If x is impossible or very unlikely to happen, then a LHPer (or anyone for that matter) shouldn't cling to a false hope regarding it, but for something as general as "x = things will turn better for me in the future than they do at the moment" I don't see why one shouldn't hope for it. If one wouldn't then that's what would keep one from even trying.

 

[Aštra’el]

Hope can motivate and inspire us.

 

[1137]

I do not think Set chooses what happens to me, and there have been instances where It did help me overcome suffering. Hope is similar to things like pride, they help us strive to be better.