Hope. If I pray, which is rarely, it's only one word: hope. When I traveled to the Western Wall in Israel, I just wrote the word "hope" on a piece of paper and shoved it in the cracks of the crumbling wall as that is tradition write payers and then put the papers in the cracks in the wall. Hope, while sustaining, can be perilous.
Not having hope is the worst, most detrimental thing to staying happy and avoiding depression. Having too much hope however can also be a detriment. We must find a balance with hope. I have been on both ends of the spectrum from hopelessness to being extremely hopeful. Both have caused pain, but I am OK now with the correct amount of hope.
The deepest, darkest point of depression is when the hopelessness takes hold and that is when living doesn't seem worthwhile. I have had this happen and it was some of the worst times of my life. I don't think I'm ready to explore this part of depression because for once I am feeling happy, but if I discuss it the happiness will slip away into the abyss, never to be seen again.
The peril of too much hope is that it can blind people to reality. I always hold old hope when causes are lost. Most of them are for guys that always disappoint me. I do not believe that holding out hope for healing a broken friendship is a lost cause. Circumstances may change. I believe that people can come back together because wounds can heal. This isn't the peril of hope. The true peril of hope is holding onto the lost cause and hoping that that person will change. People only change if they want to.
Having a good amount of hope is a powerful thing. Hope is the thing that keeps us going, helps us achieve our dreams , and gets us through the pain. Hope has power and has peril depending on how much is there.
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