What is the difference between hope and hopelessness? Belief. We are able to hold on to hope when we have faith. Without faith, there is no hope. When we hope, we look forward to some event or experience and feel confident that it will happen the way we want it to happen. The way we believe it will happen; what we trust will happen. But unfortunately hope implies little certainty. It only suggests confidence in the possibility.
We all hope for things big and small. A mother holding her newborn child knows hope. A bride and a groom hope together. When a serious illness strikes or an accident happens to a loved one, hope begins. Hope is a most powerful force! We hold on to it for comfort and solace in our time of need. A soldier going into battle knows hope. An unjustly imprisoned person finds hope. Sometimes it is the only thing we have.
Hope feels good. It lightens your heart and eases your mind. Hope can make you feel connected to others; not so alone in the world. Hopelessness happens when you give up believing.
Dr. Bernie Siegel, in his first book “Love, Medicine and Miracles” describes a chemotherapy regimen called EPOCH. This regimen was being studied in a research protocol for efficacy. The results being reported from most of the study centers showed consistent results. There was some benefit from the chemotherapy but nothing remarkable. However, it was noted that one study center was getting dramatically better results. The research team investigated to find out what they were doing differently. Studies adhere to strict protocols so it was important to note.
What the research team found was that the doctor at that center had simply renamed the regimen. Instead of administering EPOCH, he told the patients that he was dosing them with HOPE. Hope is something you wish for; something you desire and anticipate. In this case, HOPE was just what the patients needed to believe that the treatment would be successful.
A diagnosis of cancer is just one of many things that happen in life which can create a feeling of hopelessness. This happens when we lose our optimism; when we feel desperate, faced with a problem which is impossible to resolve. Remember that the only difference between hope and hopelessness is belief. And belief is based on the thoughts you have repeated to yourself; the thoughts you have chosen to think. So start with a new thought; a hopeful thought. Repeat. And again. And before you know it, a shift will happen. And your beliefs may start to change. That’s when hope can happen.