I hope I will get home “safe and sound tonight” (given the neuroses of our driving colleagues), but I believe that I will. I often read that there is little difference between these two words in English. “In many contexts, including some religious contexts, faith (hope) is the same as trust (belief). In some religious contexts, hope can be a “comfortable” word of no coherent meaning, it can refer to belief without evidence, for example, but also without any particular social or moral reason; additionally, it can imply an extra phenomenon such as an inducement to action.” (1)
This interpretation is overly complex, in my estimation. The subtle difference between hope and belief simply requires a shift in the way a person perceives the world. Hope, conceptually, allows itself a margin of error. I hope for a good many things in life – from romance to riches. Belief, however, dictates that I will achieve those things. Hope is an idea that doesn’t tell you how – belief does. I will get there, wherever there is, through work and work alone. There is an “edginess” to belief: there is something required of you. This cannot be said of hope. The word holds a broader context and in this way is often misused. You are allowed an escape when you fail. I hope that things will “work out.” Let me help “you” out: they won’t, not without some plan and its concomitant friend – action.
One of the great conundrums facing the modern educator, I feel, is to take a class of hopeful and eager, Internet-addicted students, and expose them to belief: belief in the world, belief in themselves and, ultimately, belief in their power of accomplishment. The Internet gives an endless stream of false hope. I can be rich and famous and good-looking if I have hope in the “tooth fairy” (2) and like-minded entities. “Look at Steve Jobs (1955-2011): he didn’t go to school, did he? He was a billionaire, wasn’t he?” I think Donald Trump’s (b. 1946) greatest gifts will include his person and his thought process. He is the apotheosis of the American Dream, (3) the best, unrefined capitalism has to offer. Can any thinking human being seriously sit back and say that this system of education produces the better man, the better human being? It is up to each of us to draw our own conclusion.
On a lighter note, the spring weather is upon us and with it the rains. It would appear that few people like rain: water being so ubiquitous. If I am honest with myself, I must admit that I embrace the rain. It signals a cleansing rebirth in the day and in myself. In spite of this, the traditional English nursery rhyme reminds us: “Rain, rain, go away! Come again another day: Little Arthur wants to play”: Rain (Rain, Go Away) – Breaking Benjamin. I have just finished one of Michael Palin’s travel books entitled Sahara (ISBN 978-0753-81739-1). He reminds us that a disproportionate amount of humanity has little to no access to potable water, or “the good life,” for that matter. We are fortunate to live in a society that gives us the opportunity and a lifestyle that is the envy of the world.
He encourages us to see the world and draw our own conclusions about how we should live and the seeking, spiritual and otherwise, that we should undertake. In short: how we should develop our belief systems. “I know that we shall meet problems along the way, but I’d far rather see for myself what’s going on in the world outside, than rely on newspapers, television, politicians and religious leaders to tell me what I should be thinking. … Armageddon is not around the corner. This is only what the people of violence want us to believe. The complexity and diversity of the world is the hope for the future.” It is thus a belief-centered universe that will give us value and the drive necessary to accomplish our task or mission life. The wonderful part of life is that it is individually tailored. My mission is not yours and vice versa. But, I do have a mission. I must find it and believe in it: it is my duty. The great polyglot and traveler Ibn Battuta (4) leaves us with a thought: Traveling — it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.
A closing thought: The other day, I stopped at a 7-11 to make a quick purchase. There was the usual hustle and bustle of people mixing about. Then I saw it. A woman had placed her little dog on top of a table: not on the floor, not on the seat, but right on top of the table. I just don’t get it. Where is the social decorum? I think if society has anything to learn it is that we are a part of a collective. I hold the door for you because I expect someone else to do the same for me. It is a part of the Confucian Golden Rule: One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself. My fault here, because I was in a hurry, was that I didn’t say something. I will not make the same mistake a second time. The woman probably didn’t think that her dog could be dirty and hence soil the table top: just ignorance.
An amusing occurrence: I recently tried to take a large amount of cash money from my bank account. Due to the amount, to go directly into the bank seemed like the correct decision: mistake. Now, in Western banking, we have a signature, but it is quite perfunctory and I have never been asked to redo it: not at any bank. This time, my signature did not match the banking records. It was not accepted by their banking software. I moved progressively from the front counter to various levels of seniority until I got the older and serious banking woman. She dutifully checked my passport, my ID, my driver’s license and my health card before approving my money. I had signed my name eight times. I went home and practiced perfection: from now on, only withdrawals from the ATM.
Just for fun — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YursQT9BJ2c
This week, please ask yourself, “What are my beliefs?”
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Quote: I must pause to collect my thoughts: my life is a gift that only I can uncover and glorify.
Footnotes:
1) What are the differences between faith, belief, hope and trust?
2) Tooth fairy
3) The American Dream, Quantified at Last
4) Ibn Battuta