I heard an interview with Jane Goodall recently where she was talking about a book she wrote recently about the importance of taking bold action on climate change and ecology. The interviewer asked her if she had hope. She said,”Oh I NEVER give up Hope! Without hope we’ve got nothing!”

And she went on to tell about the things that give her hope in these troubled times.

I’m curious about what gives you hope in these troubled times?

I hope that the scenario in “The Marching Morons”, a sci/fi novella, doesn’t come to pass.

I think it is more likely than not, though. . .

"I’m curious about what gives you hope in these troubled times?"

Beer.

A bumper stick read: “Now that I gave up hope, I feel better.”

Once I saw that bumper sticker, guilt for having NO hope left me.

“Hope” and “faith” are meaningless words to me. Too abstract for this brain.

If I “hope” for anything that may actually come about, it’s to accurately cut one piece of glass at a time. That’s all.

+1 and make mine a double.

The OP leads with an assumption, an insinutation, that having hope is vital and had previously come from the Mormon religion. And since you need some now so badly now cuz hope is absolutely necessary, where are you getting it?

That is the problem with these kind of leading questions. The bumper sticker Kathleen posted says it all.

For instance the Mormons love to say faith without works is dead. They fail to mention that works without faith turns out just fine and is alive and well.

As Dusty Springfield sang so infectiously, "Wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin' won't get you into his arms . . ." or anywhere else you want to go. Just do something.


I am so done with religious vocabulary. Done, I tell you.

That too...

Hope is too much in the faith category. Unworkable concept.

schrodingerscat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I heard an interview with Jane Goodall recently
> where she was talking about a book she wrote
> recently about the importance of taking bold
> action on climate change and ecology. The
> interviewer asked her if she had hope. She
> said,”Oh I NEVER give up Hope! Without hope
> we’ve got nothing!”
>
> And she went on to tell about the things that give her hope in these troubled times.
>
> I’m curious about what gives you hope in these
> troubled times?

The hope that people soon realize that time is trouble, even if these aren't perennially "troubled times"... and no time is trouble-free.

The hope for bigger and brighter RFM posts, more considerations for punk2ation and better, more accurate, titles... informed threads and more informed suggestions and answers.

Aside from that? Good people everywhere-

Faith and belief in a better world. I didn't lose that by throwing away Mormonism. Would I have it without being raised Mormon? I don't know, it was East Coast Mormonism, kind of a different thing.

But the banality of IMW Mormonism was limiting. It's good that my shelf broke. My faith is much stronger now. I finally "get" Mormonism and other mythologies. Would I go back? Depends on the bishopric, I guess. Certainly not to my old ward.

...is that another, "now" for some reason?

cute

Yes, now that you’ve given up faith in Joseph’s Myth.

Wrong place



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2021 12:03PM by kathleen.

Wrong place again



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/23/2021 12:04PM by kathleen.

thanks for the memories of my temple marriage wedding night . . .

Also, get started on your Christmas shopping now.

Hope is basically the opposite of desperation, who wants to believe in nothing? Then there's no reason to do anything, for me I follow proverbs 7, trust in the lord,... which means I have hope in God's promises

Maca, have you ever looked into the thoughts, and the data, that support the utility of simply relying on “good luck” v. “bad luck” as outlined by the Bell-Shaped Curve?

In running through the Obstacle Course of Life, the stats are quite dependable regarding the gross outcome… We can put numbers to how many finish, and in what order; we just can’t make it work on a individual level.

In my mind, religion sells because it promises to cheat for you, based on faith, works, or some combination of the two.

Hope the opposite of desperation? Don't make me laugh. How convenient it is for the religious to say that.

Hope is what you have when you want somebody else to fix things. I find it lazy.

The opposite of hope is having some gumption and a can-do attitude.

I have no hope and no desperation at all. Life is fantastic sometimes and sometimes not. Surveying the odds and assessing what I have to work with serve me better.

Nicely put.

I identify as agnostic (now) and this discussion has been interesting. I haven't posted here before.

I'd say science gives me hope. Also human compassion gives me hope.

I'd define hope as a feeling of well-being about the future.

When I think of hope I think specifically about if humanity will survive climate change, make progress, etc. I think a concept more important to me than hope is peace and acceptance. Acceptance of mortality and reality. When I say I hope humanity survives climate change what I think internally is- yes it may happen. I recognize the good in life (but also the bad). I try to accept reality and practice compassion for myself and others. Some of these concepts came from Buddhism, which although I don't "believe" in I've found some of the concepts and practices psychologically beneficial.

When my religious beliefs changed, I didn't experience an existential crisis. So some of these type of questions (what gives you hope, etc.) lean that way. If you look up existential crisis there's some good advice out there about finding your core values, finding meaning and purpose, etc. I think "hope" could fit into that type of "soul-searching" questioning.

Thanks, sunlightandtrees. Welcome.

Thank you

Ooo I thought of one more: the courage of non-conformists gives me hope.

Perhaps the heroes are they who are simultaneously non-conformist and correct.

Otherwise any psychopath or lunatic fits the bill.

I find myself taking up the mild challenge of becoming a non-contortionist...

I also am hopeful that global warming isn't the final stage; that we still have global overheating to go through before the end.

I think if you define hope as optimism, that I am generally an optimistic person. On a personal level, I'm in a good place in my career and looking forward to retiring on my terms.

In terms of spirituality, I do believe that I will see my loved ones again in the afterlife. I don't need any religion's permission to have this belief, nor do I have to agree with any religion's terms for making that happen.

summer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't
> need any religion's permission to have this
> belief. . .

Beautiful.

You are such a nice seasoning for the board, summer. Maybe even Celestial Seasoning. :)

Other countries. Canada, UK, New Zealand, Scandinavian countries, and Australia are pretty high on my list of places I admire and that give me hope.

The word “hope” is like the word “try.” No Trying!—you do or you don’t.

“Hope”? Don’t bore me with hope!—-make stuff happen or don’t.


Hope—pfft!

kathleen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The word “hope” is like the word “try.”
> No Trying!—you do or you don’t.
>
> “Hope”? Don’t bore me with hope!—-make
> stuff happen or don’t.
>
>
> Hope—pfft!

https://www.npr.org/2021/10/18/1046952409/jane-goodalls-the-book-of-hope-explains-how-hope-can-grow-with-action

"Well, let me back off a bit by saying that if we all lose hope, we're doomed. ... I've met so many people who don't have hope, who say they feel helpless and hopeless. And I say to them, "Well, that's because we're always being told think globally, act locally." But quite honestly, if you think globally you're just so depressed.
I mean, every day we're bombarded with bad news socially, politically, environmentally, but turn it the other way around, something that you feel, "I'd like to do something about this." And either you or, hopefully, you and some friends get together and start doing something and you find you make a difference. And then you realize that, well, in other parts of the world, people are feeling like you, are doing like you because they are being advised to take local action, and you've made a difference so you want to do more. And that's inspiring other people. So it's an upward spiral like this, of growing hope with action.

So for me, hope isn't just something where you sit back and say, "Oh, I hope everything will be OK." No, I don't look at the world through rose- colored spectacles. We've got to work to make what we hope for, happen.

:)

You sound like Yoda. :)

Waking up in the morning. Yay, another day to do stuff!

Then going to bed glad that I got some things done. Yay, I'm not useless yet!

Silence

Dance Music, EDM, Reggae, Dancehall, African drumming

Good books/ writing/ speaking...

"Good people"
WONDERFUL "
Exciting people
LIVELY people
Wild people
Real people
Ecosystems

Nature...

Beauty ;)

Peace ♡ :)

Hope is nature's anti-depressant. Doesn't really change anything but may take some anxiety down a notch or two temporarily.

Until . . . what you hoped for doesn't happen and clearly isn't going to, like, for sure----and reality has to be faced and then you figure out what to do about it all. So you have to find a plan. And plans are often much better than hope.

True, I voted for ‘HOPE’ and ‘CHANGE’ twice, and nothing changed.
Perpetual war, drone strikes spiked however. After Malala told him to quit droning towns like hers, that he was just creating more terrorists than he was killing. He proceeded to drop a bomb on Pakistani kids like Malala, once every 20minutes for the rest of his presidency.

That’s the opposite of hope.

But I’m not trying to be polyana and I don’t think Jane Goodall is Polyana either. She’s a serious scientist and the most powerful voice for our closest cousins in the animal world for 60yrs straight.

Our dogs have brought us through some horrible times and the two I have right now continue to do so. They are my reason for getting out of bed in the morning, for actually going for a walk, for so many reasons right now.

I never would have thought when I was young that dogs are what would get me through the days. My greatest loves.

Not much

Being an Exmo because it means you can think and you can change. And the change made us much better and real people.

What gives me hope: my children, your children, their offspring, and so on... They currently all seem much better than my own generation (I was born in tail-end boomerish 1960 ;-).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2021 02:47PM by Soft Machine.

+1.

Young people today are far less racist, far less homophobic, and far more socially responsible than our generations are. That fact gives me hope as well.

"You can wish (hope) in one hand and shit in the other. See which fills up faster" - Billy Bob Thornton in the movie Bad Santa.

Sitting around and wish/hoping is not going to yield the best and most outcomes. Getting off your butt and doing something about it, will.