How to be a candle........

 

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"Well, I agree that there are many things that humans do that may invoke feelings of despair and helplessness, but I still have to contend, I rather be a candle than curse the darkness" she answers.

"We live perhaps in an age of absurdity....and there remains an eminent risk that we may extinguish "the candle" rather than face our illusions, I however, believe in the evanescent tendrils of love," she continues.

"Now, who is the one with the illusions?" he says as he shakes his head in dismay and continues, "Would anyone but a fool believe that mankind is not eventually going to destroy this blue planet of ours?"

"It is a possibility, and I recognise that there are some indicators for a less than bright future for the planet, but might not the fact that mankind is aware of such being the case, also be its redemption?" she retorts.

"See, there is another illusion, you think somehow people are going to change, and to start caring about what happens to earth, its nature, its inhabitants and its future....Ha!" he snorts.

"Yes," she answers, "People change all the time, change is consistent, continuous and consequential".

"Change, you say,.......so you believe that mankind is going to change in time to prevent us from destroying everything around us?" he asks while shrugging his shoulders.

"That is one of the wonderful aspects of having a belief in something; time passes regardless of whether we regard ourselves as "doomed" or not. If we throw our hands in the air and say "nothing can be done", are we not already doomed? If we entertain the possibility of a positive outcome, do we not position ourselves to instill in others hope, which in turn multiplies and encourage a notion of confidence rather than a sense of doom for the future?" she responds.

"Oh, I see...that old chestnut,....religion," the words hang like icicles in the air as he speaks them.

"I guess," he says, "religion can be defined as 'A Grand Theory of Everything', but for me, I prefer something less ready-made, no disrespect to Einstein".

"Do you have to be religious to believe in hope?" curiosity colouring the tone of her voice.

"Hope," he sneers, "is dangerous if not mixed with a healthy dose of reality."

"No," he continues, "but it seems to me that religion peddles hope more than many other belief systems."

Not considering herself religious in any way, she decides to not venture any further with the subject but to only respond to the question of hope.

"What do you hope for?" she asks.

"How are we to sustain hope when the reality of mankind's inhumanity stares us down be it in real life or through some interface?," he asks. He is still for a few minutes the continues "I guess you can say I hope for hope," he says in a barely audible tone of voice.

She considers his words carefully then responds: "I too have moments when I find it difficult to discover reasons for being hopeful in the midst of mankind's blundering efforts at progress, but I try to steady my pessimism by reminding myself of the many inventions, ideas, cures, etc.etc. also in the offering.  The same mankind who exploit and conquer, also heal and defend. I find at times that it is a matter of focus, so in order as to not become despondent, I balance my thoughts of pessimism with injections of optimism."

"You deem hope an issue for the will?", he asks bewildered.

"Yes, to a certain extent I do," she answers. If I conclude that mankind is on a downward spiral into the abyss, and perhaps some say that is the truth of the matter, then my emotions are bound to follow suit and life nothing more than an absurd and painful passing of time. If on the other hand I perceive mankind as a curious child on a continuous journey of discovery, then just as there will be dangerous, and perilous passages, there will be moments of wonderment and joy, and thus my emotions an assortment of both hope and despair. Darkness is no match even for the smallest of lights; even the open flame of a single candle can dispel it, and that is why I said "I rather be a candle than curse the darkness". Hope is my candle."

The train stops and the man stands up to leave. He removes his glasses and after gently folding them, slips them into his shirt pocket. "Thank you for the chat, I have enjoyed it very much", the man says as he hurries out through the closing doors. The woman nods a farewell. As the train pulls out from the station she slips her left hand under her coat and tenderly stroke a small silver cross pinned to her blouse.

 

 There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.”

- Orison Swett Marden

 

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh