The opposing Forces of Hope, Desperation

When a great need has gone unmet, catastrophe looms, or destruction appears inevitable, then desperation arises.

Desperation may force us to use whatever sound or unsound options are available to end the pain of despair. If options prove ineffective, desperation becomes prolonged and thinking contracted. The feeling that no real solution exists makes one hope in vain, a forlorn hope.

Desperation causes unrealistic thinking and a move away from, rather than towards hope. Without consideration of realistic options because they involve risk, discomfort, or fear of the unknown, one lives in a more or less perpetual state of hopelessness.

It takes courage to hope. One must be willing to risk and fail until the need is met. Hope cannot sustain itself without a realistic plan in place that proceeds logically from point A to point B. Without a strategy, hope fizzles and desperation takes the reins. Desperation, lacking reason, leads from one unsatisfactory outcome to the next. Absent a focus or goal to steer one's ship past the rocky shoals of despair, the journey becomes disorganized, chaotic, and impulsive.

To move from desperation to hope, over-reacting must end and a reasoning state of mind begin. One must find a focus outside their inner calamity and shift towards it. Only then does hope have a chance to expand one's world rather than narrow it. Desperation is a dark corner and hope the air and light which surrounds it.

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