Article March 17, 2003 Issue

A REASONED HOPE

By Ron Ballard

Talk Of Conflict Fills The News —cultures at war, alliances challenged, populations at odds. Even the psychological state of global financial markets seems resistant to the underlying economic indicators. Where does hope lie?

The term hope is commonly used in many ways: "Hope for the best"; "Don't get your hopes up"; "There is no hope." Those usages suggest something that is not quite substantial or reliable. And when things look particularly ominous, it's easy to let one's hope become tainted by these connotations.

But there's another kind of hope—a hope that stems from conviction, confidence, and assurance. A hope that is founded on something far more reliable than fancy or dreams. Contrasting these two versions of hope, you might say that hope is a matter of perception—how you're looking at something.