1. < Aging Well

A question came to mind regarding hope.

Posted by joybo99 @joybo99, May 2 6:13pm

Because feeling "hopeful" has been associated with living longer, I was curious if the absence of hope would have the opposite effect, i.e., shortening a life.
Then I found this article which may interest others.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5552440/#:~:text=Results,respectively%20(P%20%3D%200.002).

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Aging Well Support Group.

Mentor
Miriam, Volunteer Mentor | @mir123 | May 3 9:17am

This really interested me! Thanks for posting. I wonder if "hope" helps a person physically or maybe that hope is based on things being somewhat ok. What is your opinion? Do you feel we should focus more on being hopeful?

REPLY
3 replies
joybo99 | @joybo99 | May 3 10:45am
In reply to @mir123 "This really interested me! Thanks for posting. I wonder if "hope" helps a person physically or..." + (show)
@mir123

This really interested me! Thanks for posting. I wonder if "hope" helps a person physically or maybe that hope is based on things being somewhat ok. What is your opinion? Do you feel we should focus more on being hopeful?

Jump to this post

I'm glad you responded well to this article.
I'm a sort of pessimist and maybe not the person to ask about hope.
It's a conversation that could go on for hours, Maybe not perfect for this platform.
In some ways I believe in hope very strongly, In some people I think it can extend their lives.
My thought experiment is sort of wondering does the opposite hold true... I do enjoy this website and thanks for your response

REPLY
2 replies
captboat | @captboat | May 3 10:51am
In reply to @mir123 "This really interested me! Thanks for posting. I wonder if "hope" helps a person physically or..." + (show)
@mir123

This really interested me! Thanks for posting. I wonder if "hope" helps a person physically or maybe that hope is based on things being somewhat ok. What is your opinion? Do you feel we should focus more on being hopeful?

Jump to this post

From personal experience, I am now 80 years old. I was raised by a single mother, one of four, I was the only boy. Mother was born in 1922 with an eighth grade education. I remember “hard-times”, including not having electricity or running water, and having little or no food. Interestingly, just this morning I was thinking of the word “clabber” , because that was one of the foods we ate when there was nothing else. I promise you hope was all we had and it was enough. Our “hope” was in the Lord Jesus Christ.

REPLY
2 replies
frouke | @frouke | May 3 4:54pm

I would like to add to this conversation what I learned about hope. My parents were holocaust survivors and they spent five years as prisoners of war. The circumstances they were put through doesn’t bear mentioning but the wisdom they learned from their plight was profound. My mom spoke more about it than my dad and she taught me so much about human nature, what she said was you couldn’t survive very long without hope, it was all they had to hold onto…she even added that those who gave up on hope were gone within days. I realize that I am using a horrible event to make my point but no matter how you look at it she spoke the truth about survival. We have something in common with her, we’re fighting battles of our own in survival so it does apply. On a final note she always said don’t take yourself too seriously and NEVER lose your sense of humour

REPLY
2 replies
Mentor
Miriam, Volunteer Mentor | @mir123 | May 3 6:27pm
In reply to @frouke "I would like to add to this conversation what I learned about hope. My parents were..." + (show)
@frouke

I would like to add to this conversation what I learned about hope. My parents were holocaust survivors and they spent five years as prisoners of war. The circumstances they were put through doesn’t bear mentioning but the wisdom they learned from their plight was profound. My mom spoke more about it than my dad and she taught me so much about human nature, what she said was you couldn’t survive very long without hope, it was all they had to hold onto…she even added that those who gave up on hope were gone within days. I realize that I am using a horrible event to make my point but no matter how you look at it she spoke the truth about survival. We have something in common with her, we’re fighting battles of our own in survival so it does apply. On a final note she always said don’t take yourself too seriously and NEVER lose your sense of humour

Jump to this post

This is very profound--thank you for a post that really touched me.
Victor Frankl, the psychologist, survived the death camps in the Holocaust. He is best known for this thought--“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”

REPLY
covidstinks2023 | @covidstinks2023 | May 3 6:43pm
In reply to @captboat "From personal experience, I am now 80 years old. I was raised by a single mother,..." + (show)
@captboat

From personal experience, I am now 80 years old. I was raised by a single mother, one of four, I was the only boy. Mother was born in 1922 with an eighth grade education. I remember “hard-times”, including not having electricity or running water, and having little or no food. Interestingly, just this morning I was thinking of the word “clabber” , because that was one of the foods we ate when there was nothing else. I promise you hope was all we had and it was enough. Our “hope” was in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jump to this post

captboat, Amen and amen! HE is our only hope. HE keeps me going every day. Blessings & Prayers to you and yours.

REPLY
1 reply
nathandavid | @nathandavid | May 3 6:53pm
In reply to @joybo99 "I'm glad you responded well to this article. I'm a sort of pessimist and maybe not..." + (show)
@joybo99

I'm glad you responded well to this article.
I'm a sort of pessimist and maybe not the person to ask about hope.
It's a conversation that could go on for hours, Maybe not perfect for this platform.
In some ways I believe in hope very strongly, In some people I think it can extend their lives.
My thought experiment is sort of wondering does the opposite hold true... I do enjoy this website and thanks for your response

Jump to this post

I am like you. After seeing what my Mother an Father went through leading up to their deaths and all the suffering they went through I am not a very hopeful person and do not use that word when someone I know is going through things. I pray and meditate to help me get through things, sometimes it helps, often times it doesn’t. I would never tell someone, “Dont give up hope” It’s not for me to say that to anyone.

REPLY
nathandavid | @nathandavid | May 3 6:55pm
In reply to @frouke "I would like to add to this conversation what I learned about hope. My parents were..." + (show)
@frouke

I would like to add to this conversation what I learned about hope. My parents were holocaust survivors and they spent five years as prisoners of war. The circumstances they were put through doesn’t bear mentioning but the wisdom they learned from their plight was profound. My mom spoke more about it than my dad and she taught me so much about human nature, what she said was you couldn’t survive very long without hope, it was all they had to hold onto…she even added that those who gave up on hope were gone within days. I realize that I am using a horrible event to make my point but no matter how you look at it she spoke the truth about survival. We have something in common with her, we’re fighting battles of our own in survival so it does apply. On a final note she always said don’t take yourself too seriously and NEVER lose your sense of humour

Jump to this post

It saddens me your wonderful parents had to endure this and that you have suffered as well knowing they did. I will remember what they taught you and remember it when I am having a pity party. God bless you.

REPLY
nathandavid | @nathandavid | May 3 6:57pm
In reply to @captboat "From personal experience, I am now 80 years old. I was raised by a single mother,..." + (show)
@captboat

From personal experience, I am now 80 years old. I was raised by a single mother, one of four, I was the only boy. Mother was born in 1922 with an eighth grade education. I remember “hard-times”, including not having electricity or running water, and having little or no food. Interestingly, just this morning I was thinking of the word “clabber” , because that was one of the foods we ate when there was nothing else. I promise you hope was all we had and it was enough. Our “hope” was in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jump to this post

Saddens me to know you had to endure this but I know you are fiercely proud of your Mother and what she did for the 4 of you. No Mother or Father should have to endure this but she was an Angel and loved all of you very much.

REPLY
1 reply
nathandavid | @nathandavid | May 3 6:59pm
In reply to @mir123 "This really interested me! Thanks for posting. I wonder if "hope" helps a person physically or..." + (show)
@mir123

This really interested me! Thanks for posting. I wonder if "hope" helps a person physically or maybe that hope is based on things being somewhat ok. What is your opinion? Do you feel we should focus more on being hopeful?

Jump to this post

If a person has hope and it truly helps them to be happier and have a better outlook on their life than that is wonderful and it’s gift sent to them by God. I dont have that in my thinking. I am not a pessimist but maybe just a die hard realist to a fault?

REPLY
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