hope

Robert H, Goddard once wrote; “It’s difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday, is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.” Hope is a word that I have heard used my entire life. I use it on a daily basis, never really putting a lot of thought into what it really is that I am saying. What is “hope”? Webster defines hope as “to cherish a desire with anticipation” To cherish a desire. Now, in most cases, when I use the term “hope”, it’s usually used in a very casual way. “I hope there isn’t traffic on my way home from work.” “I hope this dinner is good.” Sure, those are things that you would like to work out in your favor, but where does desire fit in anywhere? When I hear the word desire, I think a longing for something or someone. I imagine an almost overwhelming need for something to happen. Where’s the passion? When did words become so overused and thrown around to where they are slowly losing their true, proper meaning? Keep in mind, there are numerous words that I feel are being subject to the same misuse and slow demise, but the whole idea of hope is something that hits pretty close to home for me. You see, hope is, what I think, has kept me going these last 24 years. And I say that, but don’t assume that it was a choice I made as a child to be a hopeful little boy and always assume that if I hope and wish for the best, that it would come true. That’s not really the case at all. Hope was just all I had. For me, having ideas and dreams is what kept my focus away from the reality of life. It’s human nature to want your life to go perfect, and have the best of everything. I’m not being selfish, or greedy, but you see others with things you don’t have and you can’t understand why, nor do you have the means to do anything about it sometimes. But there is that one thing that you do have, hope. For me, it has never been just a word. I have had the desire that Webster decided was important enough to be used in the definition the word. As I’ve grown older, situations have changed. My views on life have changed. I have matured. But no matter what, I still find myself hoping for something. Hoping I get a great job, hoping to meet the girl of my dreams. Hoping to get the motivation to finish school and start a career. Even though the caliber of what I’m hoping for had changed since I was younger, the idea is still the same. And the desire has become more and more evident. Sometimes, I start to get tired of just hoping for something to happen. I am tired of hoping for things to look up and go my way. At what point will the desire be too much to where I am not just holding on to the idea of “hope” and just start making it my reality. I guess I am the only person who can really answer that. Or maybe I just need to pay a little closer attention to Mr. Goddard’s words. The DREAM of yesterday is the HOPE of today and the REALITY of tomorrow. I think the only thing he left out is, once your dream becomes the hope of today, it’s YOUR job to make it a reality tomorrow.