Word Of The Day

The dictionary tells me that:

HOPE
(noun)

is...:

* 'A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.'

At first glance, nothing in that definition looks surprising. After all, we all use hope on a daily basis. At least I hope we do. But in a second look, the word that jumps up at me in that definition is the word 'feeling.' 
If we know anything about feelings, is that they change. Often.

Track your feelings throughout the day, get very precise with their evaluations, and you'll likely spot yourself feeling many feelings and changing them as often as thoughts pop up in your brain. Feelings are fleeting. Hope isn't a characteristic. It isn't a state. It's a mere feeling. And as quickly as it appears in you, it can quickly vanish. 

The Israeli anthem song is called 'Hatikva'. It means THE HOPE. It's a poem about the hope of the jewish people to return to the land of Israel. A hope spanning 2000 years. A poignant line in the poem is 'We haven't yet lost our hope'. Key word is YET, because of how fleeting hope is. The anthem speaks about the need to hold on to HOPE in our hearts, and I think we all collectively got a taste this year of how challenging that can be. (IF you want to know more, you can read up about the anthem here)

The challenges brought up by Covid have also presented a test of holding on to hope to many people. Me included. Some moments - my hope chart is in full speed and can run a marathon on its hopefulness batteries! Other moments are full of... dread. And stress. And well - hopelessness.
But thankfully, as fleeting as hope can be... the feeling of a lack of hope is also - just as fleeting.