What Hope Really Is And What It Isn’t

Becoming intimate with the light hidden in the dark.

Brittany Alicia Carter
Heart Rambles

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Photo by JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash

Each year I pick a word to dedicate it to. I listen to the ethers and they whisper back the chosen word. When I heard 2024 would be hope, I sensed some endurance may be necessary, but oof!

Now it’s October and we’re a year into witnessing a genocide and the tragedy that struck on October 7th at a music festival. The current president of the US backed out of the running to make space for Harris.

We saw political agendas exposed and the negative and sometimes deadly impact of interfering with reproductive freedom. There have been nearly 400 mass shootings and almost 12,000 people dead.

The deadliest hurricane since Katrina hit in September causing billions of dollars in damages, destroying entire towns and breaking hearts around the country.

Heavy news seems to have no end this year. But the question remains. How do we find hope in a world where such atrocities happen? Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to a counter-question… What’s the point?

Before I answer these two questions, let’s get clear on what hope actually is. I once thought hope to be this delicate, naive state of mind — forever seeing the bright side and unaffected by the troubles of the world.

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Brittany Alicia Carter
Heart Rambles

Poet • Writer • Editor • Yoga Instructor • Lifelong Learner • Nature Enthusiast