Giving Hope a Second Thought

For forty some years I did not give hope a second thought. I was fortunate in that others helped me to cope with difficulties or setbacks. I learned that these setbacks made me stronger and even resilient. However, when I bumped up against a system that was not about to change in my lifetime, I realized that coping was not enough.

When I noticed that hope was a recurring theme in my journal of twelve years, one of my mentors, Dr. Jean Clandinin, encouraged to take the "Hope & Helping Relationship" course as part of my graduate work.

For a very long time, I kept my study of hope at arms length. Hope was for those much less fortunate. It was not until I connected to what was causing me to run the 'treadmill of life' to anesthetize myself to things and events that were in effect cutting me off to what was important to me and who I was, that I realized the importance of paying attention to hope in its many forms. That is as a way of thinking, relating, feeling and behaving.

I am continually amazed at what I see when others uncover and access their hoping selves so they can cope with the uncertainties of life. I see what happens when teachers look on the inside of masks to see their students' hidden hopes. Hidden and protected in some cases because others did not see them as important hopes. I see what happens when a ten year old emphatically states that she has to help her mom see that hope is much more than having money. I see what happens when a student takes off his hood for the first time in class to create and share his hopes on his hope poster.

Someday, perhaps, we will understand why these things happen so that individuals can envision and work toward a future in which they can participate with interest and enthusiasm. For the time being, I am content with asking how we can build on what happens when we make hope visible and accessible.