We find ourselves, here in the U.S., on the brink. I hardly have words for what we face now. I hardly have words for the fear, the dread, the despair.

I do, however, have words about hope.

In my opinion, it’s vital that we get hope right. Hope can sometimes be misunderstood as anything that helps us feel better about the future. The problem with that framing is that denial accomplishes that too. Minimization accomplishes that too. Detachment accomplishes that too.

Defensiveness can masquerade as hope.

Our defenses are designed to show up at times when we need help coping with or buffering certain feelings or realities. There’s nothing wrong with defenses (though they can have costs). But to me, hope is something else, and the mechanics of it work differently.

Hope is not defended. Hope tells the truth. Hope, definitionally (to me), persist within and in spite of the bald reality fully faced.

So while defensiveness can sound like:

“It’ll be okay, it’s probably not as bad as we think.”

“It’s far away from me so I'll be fine.”

“We’ve totally got this.”

Hope knows that yes, this is bad. This is really bad. Horrible things will most certainly happen. The world is forever changed. It may be as bad or worse than we think, it may be very close to home, we may not have the power we need….

***and still***

Hope knows that there is so much we do not know. That there are so many possibilities unimaginable to us. That amidst brutality and fear, there can also be profound love, joy, inspiration, beauty, power, tenderness, solidarity, creativity….

While hopelessness decides how it’s all going to go, that there is nothing that can bolster, buoy, comfort, intervene, support, remedy, relieve, salvage, that it can only go the way of full doom...

...hope knows possibility.

The work now, I feel, is to get out of denial, to get out of defensiveness, to face the truth in whatever ways your bodymind does that, at whatever your pacing needs to be, but to commit to facing it, and in so doing, to find real hope. Because hope is not just fantasy. Hope is pragmatic, prudent, rigorous, intelligent, realistic, and absolutely vital.

Grasp hold of the real kind, as best you can, as we face what’s coming.

 ~~~~~

A note about this blog:

This was a pandemic project for me, and as you may have noticed I have not written here much since. I’m going to leave it active, as my creative impulses in times of crisis can be chaotic and random: it’s always possible I come here to write a piece from time to time, or more than that depending on how I’m moved. However, where you can consistently find me creating content is at the Therapy Harm Resistance Project, and on my therapy harm Instagram account.