"Hope is our four letter word,"
- OneRepublic, "Counting Stars"
"Four letter words" refer to words with a negative connotation
—curse words, mostly. I'm sure you can come up with a list without too much creativity. So perhaps it seems counterintuitive to place "hope" in the same categories as these words, right? Maybe.
Hope is fertile. It keeps humanity going; it enables us to reach for new heights. But hope is also dangerous
—and in that sense, it is powerful beyond measure. Hope can heal; hope can bring joy; hope can spark miracles. Hope can save lives; no one would deny its positive impact. But hope is also terrifying. Hope is powerful, and that alone is enough reason to fear it. Many people fear to pin their hopes too high because they are too familiar with dashed dreams and the disappointment that comes with misplaced hope. I know this
—for the One Thing that I placed my faith in has been shaken to the core these past few months. So maybe it's not so crazy to consider hope a "four letter word."
But there is tomorrow. And there is progress. There is someone searching out there; demanding answers to humanity's cruelest mysteries. And as long as we are seeking, there is hope; alive and well. This universe is full of infinite secrets, miracles and revelations, and sooner or later, they will be ours. Hope belongs to those who look for answers
—those that are just beyond our current comprehension, and also those that are ten years' worth of work away. But humanity is motivated by necessity as well as curiosity, and that is a combination to be reckoned with. The researchers, scientists and wonderers of our generation are constantly building on thousands of years of truth-seeking to continue finding answers (we're standing on the shoulders of giants, remember?), and so as long as there is darkness, there is hope. Maybe it's all we have, really. But it keeps us together; hanging on. Hope keeps us waiting; breathless
—searching and seeking.
Hope makes this life worth living.
