The dictionary defines the word hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”
Alexander Pope coined the phrase “Hope springs eternal in the human breast” way back in 1732. The first part of that is still commonly used to this day. It came to mind while I was reflecting on the word for this blog post, as did this quote, of course:
“Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”
Princess Leia, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
I know the word in many languages. In Greek, the word is ελπίδα (elpida), the same word ἐλπίς (Elpis), or the spirit of hope, comes from. ἐλπίς was left in Pandora’s box when it was opened. In Spanish, the word is esperanza and in French, it is l’espoir, both ultimately stemming from spero, the Latin word for hope (Fun fact – Spes, which also comes from spero was the Roman personification of the Greek ἐλπίς). In German, the word is die Hoffnung, which comes from the same root as the English word. (I’m kind of a word nerd too.)
It has always been one of my favorite words.
Hope.
It’s a simple word to spell, yet so complex as well. Hope is full of longings, of expectations, of desire. It’s a yearning for brighter and better things to come. It’s wishing for a certain outcome. It’s continuing despite disaster, death, or destruction.
No wonder it survived in Pandora’s box.
“Nothing is hopeless; we must hope for everything.”
Madeleine L’Engle in “A Wrinkle In Time”
Hope is being able to reimagine the journey of life even when being faced with the crises in the pit of despair. It’s about learning to yearn for greatness when stuck in mediocrity. It’s even just having hope for a brighter day at work tomorrow, or a better game next time. It keeps people moving when everything else seems lost.
Seeing that it is a word I love so much, I of course weave it into my stories. One of my future books in the Portals Series uses it as a common theme. But that’s a story for another day.
I was recently asked a question by a dear friend, which brought me to writing this blog post.
How can we manifest hope?
It’s kind of funny that he asked that question, since I recently learned about a process called manifesting, quite by accident. Just the day before I was asked, I had accidentally scrolled onto a reel by a wonderful woman named Anna. She posts often on Instagram and manifests often. I have posted one of her videos below, the one I originally stumbled onto. Don’t worry, she gave me permission to post this!. There is one small swear word in it, just to warn you, but I think, in her own way, Anna embodies hope.
The idea of manifestation is that you can bring your hopes, dreams, and desires into play by thinking positively. While it likely won’t cure cancer or land you a million bucks, thinking positively can be hopeful. It can be optimistic. It can help a bad day turn around. It can bring hope into play with a day that might be a little rough. And while it may not work all of the time, it’s a way to help reframe things that don’t go one’s way so that one becomes more resilient to the day to day crises.
I often whisper “Today will be a good day” whilst drinking my first steaming cup of coffee in the morning. I also hold on to hope that tomorrow will be a brighter day, especially if today was not so great. I watch the sky, ever hopeful as I stare at the clouds that drift by. I hope the sun will come out tomorrow, and even if it doesn’t, I know I will find the good in the day.
It’s the eternal optimist within me, the nickname I gained long ago by a friend.
How can we magnify hope? I try each day by finding something magical about the day as I write my stories. I try to stay magical as I write my own story Even a rain storm can be beautiful if you learn how to look and find the beauty in it.
What do you do to magnify hope? How do you manifest it?
Stay Magical People! And as always, write your own story!
If you liked this blog post and wanted to see some of the fantasy works I have written, check out my Portals Series.
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And as always, #writeyourownstory
K. S. Wood Writes 
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