By Carol Daly
HOPE is the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one’s life. It is the “feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best” or the act of “looking forward to with desire and reasonable confidence” or “feeling that something desired may happen”; “to cherish a desire with anticipation”; “to desire with expectation of obtainment”; or “to expect with confidence”.
OPTIMISM is having “hopefulness and confidence about the future or successful outcome of something; a tendency to take a favorable or hopeful view.” The word is originally derived from the Latin optimum, meaning “best.” Being optimistic, in the typical sense of the word, ultimately means one expects the best possible outcome from any given situation. This is usually referred to in psychology as dispositional optimism. (1)
Hope is often referred to as an emotion rooted in (early) trust experiences and influenced by external and collaborative control beliefs. Optimism is often seen more as a cognitive construct consisting of a generalized belief in positive outcomes based on rational estimates of a person’s likelihood of success and a belief in personal efficacy. Studies conducted on the effects of hope and optimism on promoting health show a positive correlation when present to decreased symptoms, pain and illness. Furthermore they show that perhaps more hopeful individuals, as compared to optimists, are better able to cope with more serious life events, and are thus less susceptible to illness. (2)
Dr Norman Cousins, (1915-1990) was called the ‘conscience of America’ and a pioneer in research on the medical relationship of the mind and the body. In his book “The Anatomy of an Illness” he chronicles his experience of contracting a rare collagen illness – a life threatening and supposedly non recuperative connective tissue disease at the age of fifty. He then had a major heart attack at sixty-five going on to live until the age of seventy-five. He achieved miraculous recoveries from both and talked about relying on doctors for 30% of his recovery while taking full responsibility for the other 70%. He believed that laughter, hope, a strong determination and playing a significant role in his treatment accounted for his full recovery. (3)
While in the hospital with the collagen illness, Dr. Cousins put a sign on his bed that said “I only give blood on Thursdays” and he watched recordings of hilarious comedy shows and movies inviting other patients to join him. He also partnered with his doctor and decided that large doses of vitamin C should be included as part of his treatment. And so, after a time he completely recovered from his illness. In a dialogue with Daisaku Ikeda, “Hope” he said was his secret weapon. Dr, Cousins also remarked “Death is not the greatest tragedy that befalls us in life. What is far more tragic is for an important part of oneself to die while one is still alive. There is no more terrifying tragedy than this. What is important is to accomplish something in this life.” Dr. Cousins was a strong willed man who refused to be defeated by his illness. (4)
I am deeply impressed by Dr. Cousin’s experience and have shared his story many times when talking to people about health and wellness.
Nelson Mandela more often used the word optimism in the fullest sense of the word to describe his approach to life. It is curious that none or very few of his famous quotes contain the word hope. The story of Nelson Mandela, a personal hero of mine, is incredible. He survived 28 years in prison breaking rocks day after day and found hope and strength in the midst of this insane unending monotony having no inherent value of its own. He read widely and meditated on the poem “Invictus” which he said gave him the strength and determination to never give in to his miserable circumstances. The poem reads:
OUT of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbow’d.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
W.E. Henley
It is remarkable that Nelson Mandela became the President of South Africa after being released from prison. He truly lived this poem and did his greatest work in his seventies and eighties. (5)
Hope is related and similar to optimism but I see it as the stronger, broader, more philosophically and spiritually based of the two. I think what makes hope so powerful is that it is a feeling, a welling up of the greater universal energy that resides within us that has the power to dispel negativity in its deepest and darkest manifestations. It is not just the cognitive mind but the interconnected mind, body and spirit invisibly meshing together. If sustained and strengthened, hope can enable a person to not only meet the challenge at hand but use the situation or problem as a means to deeply transform.
I ask myself where the strength, courage, determination and hope come from. These virtues are often ignited by injustices and inspired from art, literature and the victories of living and historical heroes, heroines and mentors. They well up from our own determination, will, faith and belief and are further strengthened by our own experiences of achievement, fighting injustices or overcoming a difficulty.
Life seems to embrace a fundamental darkness and enlightenment that are two but yet interrelated creating a perfect tension. I have experienced on a daily basis the vicissitudes of both and found that the darker emotions of jealousy, despair, depression, denial and unenlightened anger can arise and thicken quite easily and need to be tempered. I have heard and agree with the saying “The mind and emotions are like wild elephants.” One can be utterly stampeded by their force.
On the other hand, the enlightened virtues of courage, perseverance, compassion, creativity, patience, tolerance, joy and hope require all of my effort to nourish and sustain through conscious awareness and steady practice. This is much like polishing a diamond. The brilliance and beauty of a diamond in the rough cannot be seen without rigorous polishing and cutting and is always highly sought after and admired. In the same way, when polished by difficulties, life finds opens a way for hope to shine brilliantly in the invisible realms of our hearts and manifest visibly in making the impossible possible.
“Hope is independent of the apparatus of logic.” ~Norman Cousins
“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.” ~Nelson Mandela
When the world says, “Give up,” Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.”~Author Unknown
Oxford Dictionary
A Prospective Study of Hope, Optimism, and Health (This article appeared in Psychological Reports, 1997, 81, 723-733)
Norman Cousins “Anatomy of an Illness”
Daisaku Ikeda “Humanism and the Art of Medicine” /A new Century of Health
Nelson Mandela “Long Walk to Freedom”
