A question came to mind regarding hope.

I recall Camus's book "The Plague" and lean on the understanding that all we have in life (period) is "Hope". There are no guarantees that exist from planning or prayer, for life has a way of interfering when we least expect it. Hope is personal, but not selfish. And I feel hope is the most positive variable I have in my personal arsenal of hopes, wishes, and desires. And like so many of us here at this group, I hope to survive on as little pain as possible so that I may hope to enjoy my end times, like my mother did.

My mother died from the infirmities of old age at 98 years 8 days. And she had a good mind close to the end, smiling and engaging in gentle conversations with a room full of family members. I can still remember that adorable, innocent, childlike smile on her face. She was ready to let go and went in peace.

Amen, and amen. Hope and thanks. They run together, don't they? Eternal life with Jesus is my hope, too.

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.”

What a thoughtful, even amusing comment.
Much appreciated!

In the Bible joy means gladness. This sounds like you and for “one” I am glade you are here.
Nehemiah 8:10 says “…the joy of the Lord is your strength.”(at the end of the verse) and I wish that “joy” for all of us!👍🏾

Joybo, this is from the study you quoted to begin this discussion:

< Hopefulness of each subject was assessed using his/her answer to an item from the CES-D questionnaire, “During the past week I felt hopeful about the future.” Based on their answers to this question, study subjects were classified into three groups. Those who answered 5 to 7 days a week were classified as mostly or always hopeful, those who answered 1 to 4 days per week were classified as sometimes hopeful, and those who answered less than 1 day per week were classified as rarely or never hopeful.>

I've been pondering this topic in my spare moments....

Years ago I learned that complex goals are reached by completing many small tasks.
My daily life contains many tasks and value expressions which (I hope) will gradually compound into larger goals.

Most of my proactive awareness guides these smaller tasks, some of which may take as little as 5 seconds. Some might last half a day, or need many short efforts.

So, on the one hand I have goals, some of which are many years in progress, and may involve things I cannot control, only "hope for." That is one kind of hope.
And then there are the many little daily tasks and actions, very connected to the present moment, little short term hopes which give me lots of joy. Though their meaning is, in a sense, "sheltered" by long term hopes.
I am lucky to have so many little tasks to hope with.

I don't know what my experience would be if I couldn't maintain this level of complexity, but I am grateful I can sweep the sidewalk, knowing not everyone can.