Or so said Alexander Pope. My husband pointed out to me that the slogan of one of the presidential candidates is not worded quite accurately. The slogan I'm referring to is "Hope is on the way." Hope is not something yet to be. Hope is something that is. Hope is now, already in place, in expectation of what is yet to come. The Webster's New Dictionary of Synonyms says, "Hope implies some degree of belief in the idea that one may expect what one desires or longs for; although it seldom implies certitude, it usually connotes confidence and often especially in religious use implies profound assurance." A lesson in grammar from my husband pointed to a philosophical reminder of what hope really is. Hope is not on the way, no matter which candidate wins. Hope is always here; what may or may not be on the way is the realization of a specific hope. And as my good friend has often reminded me on occasions when life has seemed dark or uncertain, "Our hope is not in this world."
“Thou takest the pen – and the lines dance. Thou takest the flute – and the notes shimmer.
Thou takest the brush – and the colors sing. So all things have meaning and beauty in that space beyond where Thou art.
How, then, can I hold anything back from Thee.”
— Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings
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