Hope as a Discipline
Far too many of us, including myself, think of hope as a feeling to simply hold onto for a moment or a little longer. But what if we thought of it structurally? What if we thought of it as a form of discipline? In times like these, I think it critical, actually imperative, that we conceptualize hope as a structure, not merely as a psychological state of mine.
Yes, hope is a feeling. There is no denying that. But when we begin to think of it as a collective social-structural form based upon discipline, we can aim for collective solutions to the problems we’re all currently facing together. We can begin to break down those problems piece by piece, with hope in mind, and tackle them. While all those problems might not be solved in the immediate future, we can gain invaluable tools to nurture structural hope.
We are in this situation for the long haul. Keeping in mind that hope is a discipline and not a fleeting notion, we can strengthen it within our communities and within ourselves, and proceed accordingly.