Live for Today, Hope for Tomorrow
A story of perseverance and optimism
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a farmer who had a horse that he would use to tend his crops every day.
One day, the horse ran away, leaving the farmer with no way to work his fields. All the villagers came to offer their sympathies, saying, “What bad luck you’ve had!” But the farmer just replied, “Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see tomorrow.”
The next day, the horse came back, bringing with it seven wild horses. The villagers were amazed and said, “You’re so fortunate!” But the farmer replied, “Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see tomorrow.”
The farmer’s son tried to ride one of the wild horses but was bucked off and broke his leg. The villagers cried, “Oh, that’s too bad!” But the farmer just said, “Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see tomorrow.”
The next day, government officials came to the village and drafted young men for a war that was going on. But the farmer’s son, with his broken leg, was not fit to fight, so he was left behind. The villagers exclaimed, “Oh wow! Isn’t that great?” And the farmer replied, “Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see tomorrow.”
This simple parable teaches us that nothing in life is permanent, and tomorrow always brings new possibilities, both good and bad. But what exactly is tomorrow? For some, it is the day after today. For others, it represents a near-distant future where anything is possible.
We often hear sayings like “the sun will come out tomorrow,” “it’ll get better tomorrow,” or “tomorrow is a new day.” For many, tomorrow represents hope. The hope is that things will improve, that circumstances will change, and that we can be better.
In the 1990s, a psychologist named Charles Snyder developed the Hope Theory. According to him, hope is the “capability to derive pathways to desired goals and motivate oneself via agency thinking to use those pathways.” He also defined hope as “rainbows in the mind.”
Creating goals is the first step to forming rainbows in the mind. Our minds need to have a goal so that they know what to strive for.
The second step is to form pathways to reach those goals. It’s not enough to want something; we must have a plan for achieving it.
The third step is agency thoughts. We must have the ability to take agency and self-motivate towards our goals.
This is the most critical aspect of the Hope Theory. It represents our inspiration to ignore our present desires and needs for the future and what we hope it will or will not be.
Finally, we must recognize that barriers are external forces that cause adversity. These are the rainstorms in which we hope for rainbows. The times when we lose our horse and hope it comes back with seven more the next day.
The promise of tomorrow is a powerful tool. It inspires optimism and self-esteem. It allows us to believe in the best and settle for nothing less than we think we deserve. These are both critical components to living a fulfilled life.
But, we may wonder, does the promise of the future stop us from living in the present? We’ve all heard new age philosophies that echo ideologies like “stay present” or the pop culture acronym YOLO: you only live once.
But the idea is nothing new. In the 4th century BCE, a philosopher named Aristippus of Cyrene, a student of Socrates, created a school of thought that philosophers call hedonism.
At its core, hedonism is the pursuit of pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Aristippus believed that the only course worth pursuing is the one that brings us happiness and pleasure, and that we should live life in the present moment, enjoying every experience to the fullest.
While living in the present moment is important, it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have hope for the future. Hope and presence can coexist. We can enjoy the present while simultaneously planning for the future. Having hope doesn’t mean that we’re not satisfied with our lives right now; rather, it means that we believe there’s always room for growth and improvement.
In fact, hope can help us appreciate the present even more. When we have a goal in mind, every step we take towards achieving it becomes a moment of celebration.
When we know that every obstacle we overcome brings us closer to our desired future, we can learn to appreciate the journey, not just the destination.
The idea of living for today and hoping for tomorrow teaches us to appreciate the present while keeping our eyes open to the future. We can cherish the good moments and face adversity with the knowledge that tomorrow may bring something better.
So, let’s take the farmer’s approach to life. Let’s embrace every situation, good or bad, with a curious and open mind.
Let’s recognize that nothing in life is permanent and that everything is in a constant state of flux. Let’s make goals, form pathways, and take agency toward our desired outcomes. And let’s always remember that the promise of tomorrow brings hope and the opportunity for a better future.
