The human mind is complex, driven by a force greater than our existence. It has always been a mystery to me whenever I think of what keeps a human being going despite the challenges and hardship we experience. We are all aware of the fact that if there is one thing life is not short of it is bitter and sorrowful days. It comes in tides and every time it sweeps us off earth till we find ourselves on the ground, shattered and broken. It comes on and on but we keep getting up no matter how bad it hurts, what is powerful enough to make us ignore our pain & sorrow of the present and keep reaching to what is yet to come in the future? What could it be?
Hope!!! They say, it is a dashing light in darkness, a spark in a tunnel. It is a powerful force capable of erasing our sorrowful thoughts with dreams and wishes of a better tomorrow. Being optimistic and having great expectations about what might never be. They say hope is addictive to humans when you constantly reach out to something that was never there but you believe it would. Doesn't it sound pitiful to be hopeful? What is the point of being hopeful of a better tomorrow that might just be an illusion? Is hope worth it? I know you might have asked yourself these questions a couple of times because I know I have.
About 13 years ago, my dad had an accident and he was rushed down to olabisi onabanjo University teaching hospital {OOUTH} in Ogun State. It was one of the most perilous times in the history of my family. I was so young then but I could still remember how scared I was. For the first few weeks my mom was a shadow of herself, all she could do was travel down from Lagos to Ogun State and sometimes she stays there for few weeks while we reside with our grandma. There were times During the weekend I and my brother would follow her to see how my dad was doing.
The moment we got there, my dad is always smiling and the next thing he would say is "I am fine, you have nothing to worry about" those words we held onto which makes the sorrowful memories less burdensome on our minds, at least we could sleep better at night knowing our dad was fine. It might have even been a lie but it doesn't really matter, seeing him smile and hearing him say those words gave us hope. He used about 4 months there before coming home but during the time he spent being absent from home, we kept our hope alive through his words, Isn't hope magical?
In this present world we live in, hope is fading gradually, people barely have a reason to live anymore, there is nothing to hold unto. There is a limit to what a human mind can tolerate, consistently experiencing hardship is capable of breaking any human being. You think being hopeful is hard? Try hopelessness. Both have different effect on a human mind, while hope gives a reason to live on, hopelessness on the other hand deprives your mind of the possibility of a better tomorrow, making you constantly focusing on the pain of the dark days you might have experienced or difficulties that are yet to come. What is the point of being alive without hope? Can a person be alive without hope?
I have seen what hopelessness does to people, it brings out the worst in any human. It deprives a human of his/her essence. Over the years, people seeking all kind of cure for depression, all kind of medication and therapy prescribed but it is never enough. Most humans still find themselves battling depression all their lives, if there is one thing a depressed person lacks the most is hope, a reason to live on. Have you ever wondered why someone would just zero their mind and commit suicide? what exactly could be missing? What if they had just a spark of hope, would they still go ahead with it?
We have war here and there because people have lost hope in PEACE*, Almost everyone is engaging in all sort of corrupt practices because they have lost hope in JUSTICE, Citizens going by their day without caring about their obligations to the country because they have lost hope in the GOVERNMENT. Without hope all we have is fear, anger, depression, hatred and bitterness. Having all this filled in a human mind, how could you expect such a person to live a productive life? Can a world filled with hopeless humans be peaceful?
So, if I could bring back something that has has gone extinct, it would be HOPE. Just a spark nothing much, enough to ignite in the mind of every human being all over the world, like a medicine to cure their bitterness. Something to live for, something to smile for, something that keeps everyone moving regardless of the challenges that might arise in the future. Call it an illusion, indeed this is just an imagination but then, what else could keep motivating a human to keep living if not HOPE.
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This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled Back to life in hive learners community.
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Cover image - 𝖣𝖾𝗌𝗂𝗀𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗎𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖼𝖺𝗇𝗏𝖺
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