I will be ever thankful to the author Coskun Ruzgar Karakoc for bringing up an essential topic for awareness. We had some discussions about how this thing called "Hope" worked and what it was exactly. Hence, this paper is a follow-up reflection of that extraordinary meeting. After a period, I found that every external had an internal, far more than what external deludes—his navigation of the interior promises greatness for everybody.
We discussed Hope as either emotion or something beyond that, a pure product of the will. Of course, it was an emotion that, like hunger, one had to cope with. If it was a thirst, it might become taboo for someone to feed so much from it. The sin of gluttony may find itself here again as the Gluttony of Hope; if Hope is an emotion, then, like a beast, we would have to tame it for our own sake with our own will. That would destroy Hope's guidance function, which many had died for before and probably many will die. You can find many perishing, while chasing their hopes. You will remember the hunger, carving to get out and satisfy itself. Hope could have similar dynamics, and by favouring it, we would allow Id to mount on the vehicle and let it ride!
But if Hope is something more than that, we should look for what it could be before deciding to follow it. Hope could also be an ultimate extension of the being and character embodied with what we call Hope. Such a mental state could trigger an emotional state of Hope. Hope is more than id, ego, and superego if that is the case. It is the voice of the actual self that the ideal and the sinful selves have shadowed; if that is the case, then we have nothing in our lives except Hope. If Hope is the song of the actual self, it will be following the most sacred path of our lives.
A DBC friend of mine once reminded me that the bloody hands of humans had killed God. He was right about the external one. But now, without also killing the internal one, humankind will be on its fuzzy quest of becoming the dominant power. By humanity, I refer to groups of people who can act independently and rationally as an individual. Humankind is nothing more than that, in contrast some may fiercely devote themselves. Has DBC killed the internal one yet?
After seeing the highs and lows of humans, the wickedness and the innocence of humankind, It is a tricky question for oneself to be certainly hopeful of humankind's future. Once delved into it, you see an adolescent's fury towards everything! A wicked outrage that is caused by false self-importance ideas. Once you delve into the soul of pre-adolescents, you will feel like something is going to fall soon! The reality will soon test their innocence of them. Seeing how some youth transform into the army of hedonism sucked me wildly this summer. When you look at the adults, you usually see a living ruin. They can neither collapse completely by their guilts and crimes nor become more than a ruin. When you look for the older ones, you may see the grace of experience. Though mostly, one will find the despair of what could have been done! In most "developing" country citizens, you see Professor Maslow's first & second stages of the pyramid. In the north, you see the third and above more often.
After all, you mostly see immaturity and wickedness. You see evil collecting and forming contracts with the mortals. How could a mortal one dare to sign a contract with something eternal? Ultimately, all those ideas are confirmed by the greatest minds:
After all, the position of one against such a point will be his destiny and role in this world. Some will go against it and try to tame it with their iron fists. Eventually, they will lose the war because of their uniqueness. Some will love this fact and not bother themselves further. They will choose an easy life of conformity. Some will both see and become annoyed but will also understand it is tough to change that. They will set a great distance with this fact. They will become distant, and by becoming distant, they will be closer to this fact.
For my end, I would like to honour Karen Horney's Hope for the individual. She saw some dignity after everything she encountered in the human soul. I myself saw this dignity and grace here. Mr Ruzgar strengthened my position by expressing the unexpressed. And the others, who, against all the suffering and biases, still fighting. In the darkness shall fires of the hope light your way. Fires and cinder rise from them for us to be hopeful.
Ultimately, I will have to completely disagree with my first proposition that said Hope was an animalistic carnage that needed to be tamed. After all, it is why we are here and fight when everything else is lost. Hope is the ultimate position of the character against existence. Hope is such a vital asset, and it is the only thing that death can never claim. In contrast, Hope will one day claim death itself.
Will you be hopeful against everything? Even having all those earthly purposes and surviving, can someone truly embrace the power of Hope for themselves?
The question of Hope, is the only question you may ask to understand one person at all.
And many will evade Hope, sadly. The absence of Hope is filled by the presence of Sins against the Self. The absence of light is filled by the presence of darkness.
Whatever lights the fires of Hope inside, the ultimate virtue will be following it for one to claim their destiny.
Hope never disguises itself and is always direct. It is those sins that mimic and cheat people.
Pandora's box has been opened.
Initially published for Polyhedron on 9/27/2022
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