FINDING HOPE
By Buyinza Morgan & Vincent Lyn
In 2016 I met Mr.Vincent and he has been a person who fills my hope up, sometimes I want to give up and I feel like giving up on life but talking to him reminds me of the goals and visions I dream and aspire to. Whenever he asks me how I am doing, I feel like I need to tell him greatness. You need such a character for your own. In conclusion, I would like to say a lot about the most important word ‘Hope’ but I understand human beings are unique creatures, we are created with the ability of self motivation and self counseling.
Hope is important for our mental, social and spiritual well being. It is one of the finest emotions in human life. Hope is important for us because we want to know that our future would be better, happier and productive than our past and present. We hope for better. Life without hope, would be meaningless and worthless. It is because of hope that we work and aim towards our goals.
The great thing is that hope is malleable. You can boost it. Scientists say it’s important that the area of the brain that activates when we feel hopeful — the rostral anterior cingulate cortex — sits at the intersection of the limbic system, which governs our emotions, and the prefrontal cortex, where thoughts and actions are initiated. This shows we have some influence over feelings of hope (or hopelessness). “Hope is a choice,” says Rick Miller, clinical director of the Center for the Advanced Study and Practice of Hope at Arizona State University.
Of course, it seems harder to choose hope at the moment, when the world seems so bleak and our brains are on high alert, constantly scanning for threats. “Hope is competing with all our other thoughts and emotions for attention right now,” says Mr. Miller, author of “The Soul, Science and Culture of Hope.” “It has to struggle to find its place in our mind.”
Since the pandemic began, I’ve read books on the Black Death, the Civil War, Winston Churchill’s inner circle during the London Blitz and the Syrian Civil War that is still ongoing. As crazy as it sounds, each one cheered me up. They helped me put the current pandemic in perspective. They reminded me that bad times do end. And they gave me an intimate peek at how people have held onto hope in the darkest times.
“If you look at how surprising events often come about in unpredictable ways, it can get you out of a fatalist way of thinking,” says Michael Milona, an assistant professor of philosophy at Ryerson University in Toronto and author of a just-published white paper on hope and optimism commissioned by the John Templeton Foundation, a philanthropic institution that funds scientific research. Dr. Milona suggests focusing on the ways history has moved forward positively, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall or Nelson Mandela’s journey from prison to president of South Africa.
Imagine yourself happy when life returns to normal. Visualizing four areas of your life — home and family, career, community and recreation — and to ask yourself how you would like them to look in the future. Picture them in great detail. (Who are you with? What are you doing? How do you look?) Those are your goals. Next, think about what you need to do now to make that vision happen. Now you’ve got agency.
Often, when we’re stressed, we become overwhelmed. Setting one goal for the week and identifying the steps we need to take to reach it — can give us a sense of control. Once we begin to experience the success in those steps, we start to see more clearly that the future is possible and we have the power to pursue that goal.
When we despair, we tend to speak in absolutes: “I’ll never catch a break.” “Things will always be like this.” “I’m overwhelmed.” “We’re doomed.” These are hope killers. Many years ago Elie Wiesel, the Nobel laureate, author and Holocaust survivor said something I have never forgotten: “Every word we speak or write matters.” Heed Mr. Wiesel’s advice. Think carefully about your words. Use hopeful language: “I can.” “We will.” “It’s possible.”
In my own words I define Hope as a positive feeling that helps us carry on during our difficult times and inspires us to see positive possibilities in impossibilities. Hope comes from imaginations and courage. Hope is the only feeling that can cause a smile to a man in his most difficult times, it builds up faith inside that overcomes the pain and hurt that displays itself outside. Hope makes present and past moments less difficult to bear because if you believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear any hardships today.
My Experience with Hope
As a young man I have lived a life of survival since childhood, so many times I have found happiness and joy only through hope. I have learnt to smile without a physical reason seen by others but a reason I feel inside me. So many times I have failed in the plans I do but this has developed my hope. It has helped me build inner strength and toughness. I have always accepted finite disappointment. but never lose infinite hope.
In my country Uganda, during the lockdown, people have burnt themselves with petrol, others have committed suicide by hanging and many people have lost their lives.
I remember working at a construction site as a cleaner during vacation. The company delayed our payments for 4 months. I had to walk miles to the site just like many others did, we ate leftover scraps certainly nothing that could sustain a hard-working man. In many ways we were tortured with hope, whenever we could see the memo posted on the wall that payment will be given on Friday. We continued to work only to no avail. This kind of false hope kept us working for 4 months without pay. Every week they posted a memo showing a day they would pay us. We thought it might not be true but at the same time we asked ourselves. What if I quit now and lose all the time I have been working here? I can’t forget one of the fellow workers who tried to hang himself but thankfully we rescued him.
In my experience at the work site, I learnt another way to define hope. Hope is the life’s ‘Driver.’ Your life can not continue without hope, hope is the fuel that drives our lives. When a man loses hope, all he wants is to die. They find no purpose to live, it looks like the world has ended.
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement, nothing can be done without hope and confidence, hope is the companion of power. Hope makes us see that there is light despite all the darkness. There is also another character that comes with hope and that is patience. Hope can not be separated from patience, but patience should however not be confused with wasting time.
How can we find Hope in such a generation?
In such a time, when the world is experiencing such calamity, it’s great need for mankind is hope, we all need someone to tell us that we must ‘Hold On’, we can still do it. Amongst all the ways we can find hope. I have briefly mentioned these two ways that are so applicable in such a period.
As a writer in flux with the world changing patterns I know that hope is now more difficult to find than ever before. In such a world filled with irresponsible leaders, undisciplined parents, bad peers and confused religious opinions and cultures. It seems the most deranged people are the ones in power. So how do we find such Hope?
1. Self Motivation: is the inner feeling that is self built to make us stand whenever we fail. You should always remind yourself of your goals, and vision. Self motivation has been and still is the best tool that boosts my hope. Speak to yourself, yes there is a genius inside all of us and with all the courage that needs to be awakened.
2. Shared Motivation: We need people in our lives that are willing to help us see the light whenever we are in our difficult times, it can be a writer of certain books, it can be your leader, it can be your parents, your movie star, friends or anyone. Mind the people you surround yourself with; you must make sure that there are motivators. They will help you find hope and have your life move on when you can no longer stand alone.
I vote for Hope, I vote for Light and for Love — Buyinza Morgan
Buyinza Morgan
Founder at Flourishing Communities Foundation
Vincent Lyn
CEO/Founder at We Can Save Children
Director of Creative Development at African Views Organization
Economic & Social Council at United Nations
Middle East Correspondent at Wall Street News Agency
Rescue & Recovery Specialist at International Confederation of Police & Security Experts