Hope - Just a dream? or achievable?

Living with a chronic illness can be both mentally and physical debilitating. This we all know, and live daily. Hope is the one thing that keeps us going, especially through the tough and difficult times. Nothing in life is simple, with chronic illness not just becoming a health problem, but impacting on work, family, and our social lives. It’s no wonder why hope is the one thing that keeps us sane. As I am one of those rather irritating people that is analytical and scrupulous, I have come to wonder what hope is? Is hope just something we desire? Or is it something we can achieve? Well I have decided to break down what hope means to me.

H – Happiness

This is probably obvious, but whether we do/do not have our condition/s, all any of us want is to be happy? It would be rather inhuman to want to be unhappy after-all, no? For some of us the only way we can ever be happy is when we are not suffering. As Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S) is not curable, I know with a confident degree of certainty that I will always suffer in some shape or form. If this was how I truly felt then hope would never be achievable for me, it would just be a dream/ideology. Thankfully I don’t fall into this group. As I write this, as much as I hurt, as down as I can get, I still am happy despite my A.S.

O – Opportunity

What is life, but one big series of opportunities? If we are ever going to achieve what we hope for (whatever it may be), we need the opportunity to do so. Some opportunities we can make for ourselves, some we can’t. For instance you can’t start a new drug treatment if you don’t visit the doctor, can you?

P – Positivity

This word I feel encompasses what hope is the most. Being positive, even if you have every reason not to be. Nothing worth having is achieved through negativity. If you have ever wondered how powerful positivity can be, then if you haven’t already done so check out my archived PMA article (once you have finished reading this one of course).

E – Expectation

Expectation is “the act or state of looking forward or anticipating”. To me expectation is a basic form of hope. Like hope, expectations can be realistic or unrealistic, achievable or unachievable, and in essence they both mean “what we want”.

So if we take a Positive Expectation that is going to make us Happier, which we can achieve through the Opportunities we have, what do we get? P.E.H.O!!! Which can also mean H.O.P.E.  ;o)

Is hope just a dream? Is it heck!!

Go make it happen!