Hope

lunamoth · 02-22-2005, 08:29 PM

Hahahahah! It's open season on starting new threads! With one on Faith and one on Charity I had to start one on Hope

.

So what gives you hope for the future?

Tag, you're it.

Sacredstar · 02-22-2005, 10:21 PM

Love it Lunamoth, well it as to be the children - the future of humanity.

Their joy, innocence, love and smiles, the greatest blessing from GOD.

Love beyond measure

Sacredstar

lunamoth · 02-23-2005, 04:56 AM

Guess we are a pessimistic bunch--not too much hope out there?

Anyway, I've been musing over this one myself today since I impulsively started the thread. Lots of things came to mind, but I think what I will say is that what gives me hope is that we sometimes get it right, and sometimes brilliantly so. In spite of how imperfect, fragile and often dull we are, we still have Einsteins and da Vincis and Mozarts and Shakespears, Ghandis and Martin Luther King Jr.s and Elizabeth Cady Stantons and Mother Theresas. We see pictures of the beginnings of the universe from our telescopes. We find cures for brutal diseases. We hide escaped slaves and hunted Jews in our attics. Sometimes we even hold the door open for each other.

Forgive me! It's late and I'm rambling.

Peace,
lunamoth

mirrorinthefog · 02-23-2005, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lunamoth

So what gives you hope for the future?

I don't like to think that far ahead, but if I did, I'd say not very darn much.

mirrorinthefog · 02-23-2005, 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sacredstar

Love it Lunamoth, well it as to be the children - the future of humanity.

Heh, that would make me loose more hope than gain any.

Bandit · 02-23-2005, 07:45 AM

Hope is kind of like that thing in the middle that binds faith with the destination.
There is always Hope. The darkest hour comes just before the dawn.
There is hope in everything mentioned so far. faith, peace, hope, joy, charity, all these things work together giving us strength and experience even through hard times.
Hope for our kids. hope for all the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan that will soon be coming home safely. Hope for our loved ones to have health and security. Hope for the less fortunate with handicaps that someone will care for them and we can help in that. We can help each other and give each other hope and assurance when someone is down.

Psalm71:14But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.

One of the greatest things in hope for me personally, when I cant see the end of the tunnel and pain and burdens linger, I lift my heart and spirit and arms unto the Lord and He meets me immediately

.
He can work through those who praise Him
Praise the Lord, for our God inhabits praise,
all those chains that seem to bind you
serve only to remind you
they drop powerless behind you
when you Praise Him.

Paul also assured us that we have hope through and by Jesus...
Romans 5

1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

5And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Faithfulservant · 02-23-2005, 09:16 AM

Bandit you said what I would say

lunamoth · 02-23-2005, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirrorinthefog

Heh, that would make me loose more hope than gain any.

Well, thinking of some days in my own house the same thing occurred to me.

lunamoth · 02-23-2005, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bandit

Hope for our kids. hope for all the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan that will soon be coming home safely. Hope for our loved ones to have health and security. Hope for the less fortunate with handicaps that someone will care for them and we can help in that. We can help each other and give each other hope and assurance when someone is down.

Psalm71:14But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.

Thanks Bandit! I agree.

Sacredstar · 02-23-2005, 02:24 PM

"A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their
mission can alter the course of history." - Mahatma Gandhi

Now that gives me hope and inspires me to keep on moving onwards and upwards no matter what others might think or say. It supports my inner knowing and conversations with GOD.

Compassionate hearts can really change the world and the face of humanity.

Love beyond measure

Sacredstar

lunamoth · 02-23-2005, 07:33 PM

Thank you for that Sacredstar. Thanks too for the motivation to correct my spelling of Gandhi and Mother Teresa. Bless those who have a sin-covering eye when it comes to typos!

Actually, your Gandhi quote reminded me of the Margaret Mead quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” So I had the chance to spell her name wrong too! So MM lived from 1901-1978, Gandhi from 1869-1948. Wonder who was paraphrasing whom.

So the fruit of all this was that I discovered Google's Brainy Quotes and now I know where everyone gets all their great taglines. Like:

"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer."
Frank Zappa

cheers,
lunamoth

Sacredstar · 02-23-2005, 07:55 PM

All IS perfect Lunamoth

being love

Sacredstar

Vajradhara · 02-23-2005, 09:14 PM

Namaste lunamoth,

thank you for the post.

i suppose that it depends a bit on how we define "hope", eh?

i found a few of them, quoted here for reference:

A desire of some good, accompanied with an expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable; an expectation of something which is thought to be desirable; confidence; pleasing expectancy.

To entertain or indulge hope; to cherish a desire of good, or of something welcome, with expectation of obtaining it or belief that it is obtainable; to expect; -- usually followed by for.

To desire with expectation or with belief in the possibility or prospect of obtaining; to look forward to as a thing desirable, with the expectation of obtaining it; to cherish hopes of.

http://www.brainydictionary.com/word...ope174246.html

so... using the above definitions.. i would conclude that i have hope in some senses and not others.

this term has always carried a connotation, for me, of desiring of a favorable outcome but not knowing if said outcome was possible or not. so, as such, i generally don't have hopes or "dreams" as it is sometimes phrased in the same way.

i suppose... that, when it gets down to the salt in the tea, as they say, what i hope for is that sentient beings will encounter the Dharma and begin the process of liberation without undergoing any negative rebirths.

lunamoth · 02-23-2005, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vajradhara

i suppose... that, when it gets down to the salt in the tea, as they say, what i hope for is that sentient beings will encounter the Dharma and begin the process of liberation without undergoing any negative rebirths.

Hi Vaj, yes always important to start with a baseline understanding of the subject at hand. Thank you for the definitions.

I work on having hopes and dreams. I figure that if I don't have a destination in mind I won't ever get there.

It's not always easy--I guess because the expectation part of the equation often seems unrealistic. Nevertheless.

I claim to be an average man of less than average ability. I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have, if he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith.
Mohandas Gandhi

Love that BrainyQuote!

cheers,
lunamoth

Quahom1 · 02-23-2005, 10:13 PM

Hope is in the face of a new born child, and in the parent who prays they get it right...