“Hope is a waking dream.”
~Aristotle
Reflect on this: What can the power of hope do for those who have never been given any before?
As Aristotle stated, “hope is a waking dream.” It is what turns our visions and dreams into reality.
If given the smallest amount of it, anything seen as being impossible stands a greater chance at being accomplished.
Hope offers the bearer of it, the belief, and faith that they have a fighting chance to do whatever it is they may have put their mind and action to doing.
Hope not only wakes the dream, it keeps it alive, burning, and thriving inside the individual that bears the slightest bit of it from day to day.
Without any of it, you mind as well pack it all up and head back to living a life of mediocrity.
“When the world says, “Give up,” Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.” ~Anonymous
Oxford Dictionary says that it’s a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen. It also states it as being, grounds for believing that something good may happen. The list is endless of what hope is for many people.
Hope has many faces. It carries many definitions.
Anything and anyone can provide an individual with hope. What gives you hope?
Hope has built bridges, skyscrapers, planted forests, and even landed man on the moon.
“Where there is no vision, there is no hope.” ~George Washington Carver
Recently, I watched a TIVO recording I had scheduled for the OWN network. The recording was a two part where Oprah talked about the academy she started over in South Africa for girls. “OWLAG” or Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls, is a perfect example of what hope does if it’s given to a person who’s gone without seeing any evidence of its presence.
As I watched the first graduating class, I was reminded of the great power that hope has for those who had never been given it, or who had it taken away from them.
If you missed it, I wanted to share with you a clip of the show, just to show you what it looks like to me.
After you’ve had a chance to see it, share with me your thoughts and insights of what hope means to you. I’d love to read them.
Enjoy.
Over to you…
Please leave me your thoughts, impressions, and insights for today’s Reflections. I encourage you to share them in the comment section below.
Let’s sharpen one another.
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Let me inspire you to embrace the HOPE inside of you!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautiful Deone!
I would say just as love makes the world go round, so does hope! It is on hope that we do what we do today, and it’s with the hope that things would get better that we keep trying today – isn’t it?
I loved the quotes you shared, especially the image that says…hope is the light that shines in the darkness, which is so true. Hope is what we live on when someone is ailing, because we hope that they would get better. It’s with a hope in our hearts that our loved ones, kids, and family would remain happy in content in their lives. Hope is ALL around us and we live with hope.
I couldn’t view the video, because it says that the uploader hasn’t made it available in my country. I guess it must have been something really good as you mentioned it.
Thanks for sharing, and here ‘hoping’ you have a wonderful day ahead.
Harleena Singh recently posted this awesomeness..Why Can’t Men and Women Be Friends
Thank you, Harleena!
It most certainly is, my friend. Hope is the very essence of why I seek to learn and improve upon myself, simply because I don’t know who’s watching me – or who is looking up to me. Even though it took me losing a lot to get a clue of what really matters, I’m totally humbled by the hope that someone shared with me to see that better days were ahead.
I’m glad you liked the quotes… and the image is my favorite as well. A HUGE THANKS to “. : Khalid Khan : .” on Flickr for creating it. Out of all the Hope images… he rocked it the most, to me.
I also loved what hope means to you. We defiantly share in our ideals of what hope has the power of doing, don’t we.
My apologies that you weren’t able to see the video. I’m not sure of the licenses and laws on it. Not to mention, it was recorded in Johannesburg. Not sure if that had anything to do with it as well. I hope at the very least you were able to see the images on Oprah.com. If not, I tell ya, it was a sight to see. I’m a big ole tear baby when it comes to things like this. And when I say the look on these young ladies faces, I was truly a HOT MESS with tears of joy for them.
There… I said it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, Harleena. It’s always a pleasure to read you and such a joy to have you as a dear friend. Wishing you all the best.
Cheers and Blessings.
I love this topic Deone. In recent years hope has gotten a bad rap – especially the notion that hope causes us to hang on to dreams long after common sense tells us to let go. What a sad world this would be without hope! Here’s my very favorite quote on hope: “Never let go of hope. One day you will see that it all has finally come together. What you have always wished for has finally come to be. You will look back and laugh at what has passed and you will ask yourself… “How did I get through all of that?” ~Author Unknown
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Deone, well done! Hope is a very important part of the human psyche. It’s literally the lynchpin for someone who’s down in luck, as it keeps them going, knowing that the brighter days are just around the corner. Without hope, it’d be difficult to keep going.
Your post, along with Harleena’s comment, reminds me of the line from the 1st Letter of Paul to the Corinthians from the Bible (even though I haven’t been a Catholic for many years): In the end, faith, hope and love, these three, remain, but the greatest of these is love. From the Course in Miracles, everything is either rooted in love or fear. So, hope is rooted in love. Where there is love, there is hope also.
Thanks for being a messenger of hope, Deone!
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Thank you very much for the wonderful comment and compliment, Alice. I loved this part of what you had to say, “It’s literally the lynchpin for someone who’s down in luck, as it keeps them going, knowing that the brighter days are just around the corner.” That’s a awesome way of looking at it.
I have recently started reading, “A Course in Miracles.” Alongside, a previous read, “The Untethered Soul” it has been a very enlightening experience for me. I’m sure the further I get through the course, the more enlightened I will be in many other areas. I also anticipate many unanswered questions as well. Time will tell.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights here, Alice. It’s always a delight to read you here.
I missed this special when it aired — thank you so much for sharing this video!
I can say plenty about hope, but you covered pretty much everything I feel!
You know they saying, “A mustard-seed of faith” — I also say that all a person needs is a hope the size of a mustard seed, and the possibilities are endless.
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You’re welcome, Makeba.
It was a powerful program, I’m telling you! Incredibly inspiring.
I also love your saying… “hope the size of the mustard seed…” Pure awesomeness!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, my friend.
Hi Deone!
I LOVE this post & especially this quote: “When the world says, “Give up,” Hope whispers, “Try it one more time.” ~Anonymous
I’ve been writing most of my life. Fiction, mostly, which is a tough market. Hope is the thing that keeps me going when there doesn’t seem to be any reason to keep at it, the publishing part anyway. Hope was what made me change my vision when the traditional route seemed closed to me.
The best ending to a story I’ve ever read is Stephen King’s Rita Hayworth & Shawshank Redemption. It’s about hope. The ending is the best line ever, IMO, & it made me cry.
It’s so true that the world is quick to say give up. It’s easier to give up. But I keep trying . . . one more & one more & one more time.
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