August 2001

HOPE

HOPE is part of our ontological structure. HOPE Is a mode of our very being. To be alive is to live in the state of HOPE. HOPE is a pre-condition of our mental health. HOPE is the scaffolding of our existence.

HOPE is the eternal flower that blossoms against the snow. HOPE is the nourishment that sustains us daily. HOPE is the oxygen for our hearts and souls. HOPE is the ray of light that separates life from death.

HOPE is a re-assertion of our belief in the meaning of human life; and in the sense of the universe. HOPE is a pre-ccndition of all meaning, of all strivings, of all actions. To embrace HOPE is a form of wisdom; to abandon it is a form of foolishness.

The logic of HOPE is the logic of affirmation. The logic of HOPE is the logic of solidarity. The logic of HOPE is the logic of compassion. The logic of HOPE is the logic of courage. The logic of HOPE is the logic of responsibility. All these attributes: Affirmation, solidarity, compassion, courage, responsibility are the very stuff of which life is made; that is life which is alive, life which leads to peace, harmony and wholeness.

HOPE is courage, and courage does not have to be blind. HOPE is affirmation, and affirmation does not have to be stupid. HOPE is responsibility, and responsibility excludes ventures that are crazy or utterly impossible.

You cannot live by objectivity alone. But you can live by HOPE alone. HOPE is not a spurious trapping, not a luxury but the very fountain of our inner life. What is left to human beings is HOPE. And love. HOPE to sustain love. Love to sustain HOPE.

The logic of HOPE gives us the permission to be and become in the image of our transcendental self, in the image of our spiritual self, in the image of the person we ought to be. This is in consonance with Paul Tillich who maintained that the essence of the human being is not what he or she is but what the person can potentially become. This idea was admirably expressed by Goethe, who said:

To treat man as he is
Is to debase him;
To treat man as he ought to be
is to engrace him.

HOPE is claiming back the better part of ourselves. HOPE, like light eternal, is a lamp that glows forever, in spite of the apparent darkness.

Henryk Skolimowski