Advice from A Lexis

How does “hope” -- that things will work out for the best -- work in real life?

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Dear Lexis,

You mentioned a belief that you consider important for people to hold, that things are always working out for the best.  I suppose you would call this belief “hope.” And while hope seems like a good belief in general, I wondered if advice like this would apply to people dying of cancer or trapped in a war zone.

How can a belief help people in situations like this? Are they supposed to believe that somehow the cancer, or suffering, is a good thing? Wouldn’t a belief like that just create a delusional sense of things not being as bad as they are?

-Uncertain

Dear Uncertain,

I understand your confusion. I had similar questions when I was first introduced to the realm of spiritual development. I am not recommending that people ignore the struggle before them or deny the situation, but instead acknowledge that there may be some unknown, positive outcome that has yet to manifest.

For this reason, I would say that it’s absolutely imperative for someone suffering from cancer, or stuck in a war zone, to hold a belief like this as it’s the path to hope. The belief that things will work out in the end, despite all the pain of the moment, is what gives many people the strength to hold on for another day.

The way I see it, someone who is in a hopeless situation has two options; they can hope for a better tomorrow, or they can give up. And while it’s not quite as simple as merely picking one over the other, it generally benefits the individual to keep up hope.

Why we underestimate hope

We humans tend to underestimate hope, viewing it as an optimistic fabrication done only by the naive. It rubs people the wrong way, they think they are burying their head in the sand and avoiding the problem before them. Why exactly is this bad? Perhaps because we tend to believe we can only solve problems through acknowledgment. However, situations like cancer provide the perfect opportunity to combat this kind of thinking.

Cancer, while it comes with many potential cures, is primarily something you can’t solve on your own. There are no guarantees with cancer, no cure is guaranteed, so the only thing you can do is hope and focus on the wins. By keeping your spirits high, you improve your own body’s capability to heal, and therefore increase the effectiveness of potential treatments. By looking toward the resolution rather than at your present suffering, you increase your chances of recovering.

In truth, it’s only by focusing on the solution rather than the problem that we humans solve any given problem. It’s only once we remove ourselves from the emotions and the suffering of the moment that we have the capability to see beyond the pain and embrace creativity. It’s only through hope, and the trust that things will work out for the best, that we find the courage to soldier forward even in the face of uncertainty.

The gifts of hope

Hope, while abstract, is a powerful thing. Hope guides us and keeps our heads up so that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Creativity, innovation, and inspiration are all gifts of hope, and they provide us with the opportunity to see beyond the challenges of the moment and into a brighter future.

So, while suffering and pain will continue to exist in our world, there is always hope too. No matter how bad things get, we can always look to the future and know that beauty, light, and peace will soon come.

This is the value of believing that things are always working out for the best. By acknowledging that we don’t necessarily know what’s going to happen from here, we open ourselves up to an entire world of possibility. So while I cannot guarantee the accuracy of this belief, the benefits seem to outweigh the potential doubts.

The choice is yours; you can believe what you choose. However, if you wish to lead a life full of hope, light, and laughter, a belief like this can help.

-Lexis

Alexis Baker writes from her home in Olympia.  Write to her at  Lexis@theJOLTnews.com 

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