Yes, no question, hope is essential for the survival of the human spirit.   Hope is the necessary ingredient for an optimistic future.  Without it, we can move to that place of resigned despair that can accompany the darkness of depression and self-destruction.   But out of context, hope can be misleading and even harmful.   It can prevent us from living life on life’s terms in a present and full manner.  Allow me to expound:

Hope without realistic evidence is denial.   Sometimes, the marriage cannot be saved.  Sometimes, cancer wins.  Sometimes, character flaws carry a poor prognosis.   Hanging on to false hope grounds us in denial and stalls the process of accepting reality on reality’s terms.  Learning when to keep holding on tightly with both hands clenched and when to pry back our fingers and finally let go … that is one dance we must stumble through in life.  And sadly, it does not come with an instruction manual.  
 
Hope without action is passivity.   It is one thing to dream but it is quite another to put one’s feet to the fire and make it happen.  Hope is not an excuse to do nothing – to sit and to wait as if we have front row tickets to a magic show.   But rather, true hope demands hard work, goal-setting and perseverance through fear, risk, criticism and failure.   Hope alone can prevent necessary action.

Hope without an honest evaluation of our limitations is grandiosity.   Let’s face it, folks  … I am never going to win an Olympic medal.  Never gonna get him to love me again.  Never gonna have another baby.  Never gonna erase the mistakes of my past.   There are some things, many things, that are not within my reach.  I can try with all my stubborn will (and I got plenty!) but I will end up in futility with wasted time, breath and energy.   Without an honest, and perhaps harsh assessment of my limits, I cannot embrace the me that I am now.   Humility means facing my truth in the mirror and recognizing what I can and what I cannot do.  Accepting my limits gives me the freedom to flow with the current of life rather than spending wasted energy trying to fight against it.  

Contrarily, I wonder if hope is really most hopeful when it is paired with surrender.  I think St. Francis got this idea.  His famous serenity prayer speaks to this exact paradox  “… to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.”   May compassion be your companion as life keeps you engaged in the struggle of knowing when to hold on for dear life in hope and when to finally take a deep breath and let go.