Hope as uncertainty
This morning I was listening to the December 14, 2017 podcast of On Being featuring a conversation between host Krista Tippett and writer Rebecca Solnit. Ms. Solnit is the author of several books including A Paradise Built in Hell, Hope in the Dark and The Mother of all questions. I urge the readers of this blog to listen to or read a transcript of this conversation.
I especially appreciated her definition of hope. She says : “Hope, for me, just means a Buddhist sense of uncertainty, of coming to terms with the fact that we don’t know what will happen and that there’s may be room for us to intervene, and that we lave to let go of the certainly people seem to love more than hope and know that we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Most of the times when we hear the word hope it in reference to an upcoming event. We might, for example, hear ourselves say, “I hope the results of your test are good. I hope that you do well on your final exam. I hope that you are able to have a pleasant holiday.” Her statements suggest acceptance of the fact that we do not know what is going to happen. Ms. Solnit’s definition seems to go a step further. It is as if she is suggesting that one embrace uncertainty.
I am reminded of the paradox of the first step of the 12-step recovery programs. The original version first written for AA read, “We were admitted that we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.” The nature of addictive drugs and behavior is that once one takes that first drink or uses that first drug, gambles that first dollar or engages in that first act of any addictive behavior, the addiction takes control.
Certainly I can prepare for events. Tomorrow I am scheduled to travel to Pittsburgh for a holiday celebration with a close group of friends. I have promised to bring deserts, which I have already prepared. Assuming I am not ill, the weather does not intervene, the host does not have some emergency, the car is working, and I do not have an accident on the way I will be there. If I am not able to go for any of these reasons, it is not the end of the world. I will embrace whatever situation is presented to me. Even if I am presented with the loss of a loved one I will embrace the loving support of friends. Of course I will also be sad.
Ms. Solnit points out in her conversation with Ms. Tippett, that unexpected positive things also happen. One has to be ready to also receive and embrace those. The Buddhist Nun, Pema Chodron talks about living with a group of people in Berkley who were very active in the movement for social justice. She recalls there was at least one person who seems to only feel good if there was some injustice he could fight. If some situation had a positive outcome he became very depressed. Many of us may seem to be at our best in a crisis and may unconsciously look for a crisis while hoping and even praying for a positive outcome.
Hope for Ms. Solnit is not the same as optimism. It is accepting that life will show up. I can and will do my homework, bake my deserts, prepare for the holiday feast but I will also be ready for an outcome I could not have predicted.
Written December 15, 2017
This morning I was listening to the December 14, 2017 podcast of On Being featuring a conversation between host Krista Tippett and writer Rebecca Solnit. Ms. Solnit is the author of several books including A Paradise Built in Hell, Hope in the Dark and The Mother of all questions. I urge the readers of this blog to listen to or read a transcript of this conversation.
I especially appreciated her definition of hope. She says : “Hope, for me, just means a Buddhist sense of uncertainty, of coming to terms with the fact that we don’t know what will happen and that there’s may be room for us to intervene, and that we lave to let go of the certainly people seem to love more than hope and know that we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Most of the times when we hear the word hope it in reference to an upcoming event. We might, for example, hear ourselves say, “I hope the results of your test are good. I hope that you do well on your final exam. I hope that you are able to have a pleasant holiday.” Her statements suggest acceptance of the fact that we do not know what is going to happen. Ms. Solnit’s definition seems to go a step further. It is as if she is suggesting that one embrace uncertainty.
I am reminded of the paradox of the first step of the 12-step recovery programs. The original version first written for AA read, “We were admitted that we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.” The nature of addictive drugs and behavior is that once one takes that first drink or uses that first drug, gambles that first dollar or engages in that first act of any addictive behavior, the addiction takes control.
Certainly I can prepare for events. Tomorrow I am scheduled to travel to Pittsburgh for a holiday celebration with a close group of friends. I have promised to bring deserts, which I have already prepared. Assuming I am not ill, the weather does not intervene, the host does not have some emergency, the car is working, and I do not have an accident on the way I will be there. If I am not able to go for any of these reasons, it is not the end of the world. I will embrace whatever situation is presented to me. Even if I am presented with the loss of a loved one I will embrace the loving support of friends. Of course I will also be sad.
Ms. Solnit points out in her conversation with Ms. Tippett, that unexpected positive things also happen. One has to be ready to also receive and embrace those. The Buddhist Nun, Pema Chodron talks about living with a group of people in Berkley who were very active in the movement for social justice. She recalls there was at least one person who seems to only feel good if there was some injustice he could fight. If some situation had a positive outcome he became very depressed. Many of us may seem to be at our best in a crisis and may unconsciously look for a crisis while hoping and even praying for a positive outcome.
Hope for Ms. Solnit is not the same as optimism. It is accepting that life will show up. I can and will do my homework, bake my deserts, prepare for the holiday feast but I will also be ready for an outcome I could not have predicted.
Written December 15, 2017
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