HOPE IS NOT OPTIMISM by Esther Nelson

Recently, I discovered a quote attributed to Seamus Heany, Irish poet and playwright (1939-2013), perhaps best known for winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. This is that quote:

“Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for.”

The origin of the quote, though, might be a paraphrase from a former president of the Czech Republic, Václav Havel (1936-2011), who reportedly said: “It [hope] is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” Heany seems to have used Havel’s conception of hope and voiced it poetically.

Regardless of the origin of the saying, I like Heany’s poetic expression.

For whatever reason(s), I’ve spent much of my life believing the world to be hopeless. It wasn’t hard to hold onto that belief. Even before the advent of the internet and instantaneous “breaking news” reported from all over the world every day and all day long, I was distressed with so much fighting, war, animal cruelty, gross inequality among human beings, as well as a blatant disregard for and exploitation of our planet, Earth.  No let up. As soon as one war ends, another begins. Whenever an animal is rescued from a deadly situation, there are many more creatures in that same inhumane boat. Greedy people manipulate political situations in order to line their own pockets. I would often ask myself, What hope is there?

At the same time, along with many of us, I went about my daily existence almost robotically. 

Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a French philosopher, author, and political activist as well as the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature. In 1942, he wrote an essay, “The Myth of Sisyphus,” based on a story from Greek mythology that tells about the gods capturing the misbehaved, trickster Sisyphus from the underworld and punishing him. The gods required that he push a rock up a mountain for eternity. The rock rolled back down the mountain every time it reached the top, requiring Sisyphus to start all over again. One interpretation of the myth is likening Sisyphus’s never-ending task to our modern lives working at what many consider to be futile jobs such as in factories and offices.                                   

Camus, though, believed that the struggle itself could bring fulfillment, even happiness. Intriguing, but how?

Heany’s poetic rendition of Havel’s longer quote brought me a breath of fresh air. “Hope is not optimism, which expects things to turn out well, but something rooted in the conviction that there is good worth working for.”

People can (and do) disagree about what is “good.” Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960), anthropologist and author of the novel THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD,” gives the protagonist the following sentences to say: “Two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh theyselves.  They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh theyselves.” 

In other words, one must experience the world through one’s own unique self, not through theological doctrines and laws imposed on one from the rigor mortis of a past era.

We live in a “Just Believe” culture where we are often admonished to just believe something (usually a positive thing) will come to pass. A new car. A loving relationship. A cured disease. I never put much stock in those positive affirmations so popular in our culture and, consequently, have been told not to be such a “Debbie Downer” because good always overcomes evil in the end.  Poppycock! No, it doesn’t. Things often turn out to be unfair and unjust. 

But, I am learning I can still be hopeful as I go about my work to which I am committed—not in the sense that we often think of where Sisyphus mindlessly goes about his task—but because I’m convinced in my heart of hearts that going about my work is worth the struggle even though I have no guarantee that all will turn out well.

These days I work at a local women’s clinic that provides health services, including abortion. We are busy. Many women come from particular southern states that have either banned or severely restricted the procedure. Some drive ten or more hours to get to our facility. What energizes me is the conviction that my job involves commitment to a larger good—the right of women to decide about and control their own reproduction. Does that mean that as a result of my work our country will lift the ban and restrictions that some states have enacted against abortion? Who knows? However, I would not experience the joy I do talking with and helping women who seek our services if I just went about my job anxiously and robotically. I find sustenance, meaning, and even happiness by struggling towards the good we provide and work towards through our services.

Biology is not destiny. Just because a person has the ability to get pregnant doesn’t mean that need be their ultimate fate. A pregnant person should be able to decide, based on their circumstances, their desire, and willingness to put their body at risk, whether or not to nurture an embryo/fetus into viability. If that personal decision is legislated away, a pregnant person’s humanity with its intrinsic dignity becomes compromised. They become people considered “less than.” How dare anybody else make that decision on their behalf?

So, I continue to be present for our clients as we struggle towards that elusive goal of reproductive choice for all of us. I can listen to and care for people who need abortions. Doing so is rooted in my conviction that bodily autonomy is a good thing and worth working towards. And that’s hopeful!