Discovering Hope
Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt you were without hope? Sometimes difficulties and disappointments in life can lead us to a place where we feel that nothing will ever be better. Nothing will ever change. We allow ourselves to give into despair. The act of giving up hope is really giving up on life.
One of my favorite movies, "The Shawshank Redemption," speaks eloquently to the idea of hope. The story is about Andy, who is serving two life sentences after being wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife and her lover. And while there are few situations that would seem as hopeless as this, Andy ultimately finds freedom by refusing to abandon hope. Along the way, his friend and fellow inmate, Red, (who narrates the story) finds his own ideas about hope transformed.
In the following excerpt, Andy and Red have a conversation about music that reveals each character's views about hope:
Andy: That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that way about music?
Red: I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it though. Didn't make much sense in here.
Andy: Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget.
Red: Forget?
Andy: That there are things in this world not carved out of gray stone. That there's a small place inside of us they can never lock away, and that place is called hope.
Red: Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.
It can be tempting to view hope as dangerous, especially in the face of severe and unrelenting disappointment. But it is in the most trying circumstances of our lives that hope makes the most sense. In fact, it can be the difference between living life, or passing time waiting for death. Later in the story, Andy eloquently makes this point. Andy and Red talk about where they would go if they were free. Andy talks about his dream to live out the rest of his days in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. "You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific?" Andy asks Red, "They say it has no memory." I think this idea holds a key to the mystery of hope. We are most capable of hope when we allow ourselves to let go of the memory of disappointment. This can be difficult, but it is worth the effort. The vast Pacific Ocean is a beautiful metaphor for a state of being that has no memory. If we can learn to let our lives be washed clean of the hurts and disappointments that imprison us, we can open ourselves to hope, and with that hope comes the promise of freedom.
Later in the conversation about Mexico, Red gets frustrated with Andy, and tells him to give up his pipe dream. "Mexico's down there, and you're in here, and that's the way it is!" says Red. Andy responds, "You're right. It's down there, and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying." And that's what Andy does. He uses a small rock hammer to tunnel through the walls of the prison, and eventually he finds his way to freedom.
Some time after Andy's escape, Red is granted parole. He struggles with freedom, and even considers violating his parole so that he will be able to go back to the structure of prison. But then he goes to a field that Andy told him to visit if he ever found himself on the outside. There, buried in a box he finds a postcard that gives him a clue as to Andy's whereabouts, and a letter. At the end of the letter Andy writes, "Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies." There is another lesson. If Andy is right, then hope resides in all of us. It doesn't die, even when it is hidden from our consciousness. Even when it is buried in our despair. If we can let go of our hurt and disappointment for even a moment, we can allow ourselves to hope again. We just have to remember that hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.
Red decides to follow his friend, and embrace hope. As he rides a bus to the border, he narrates, "I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope." That is the experience that hope brings us. The anticipation of a journey. A journey to a place that is fresh with possibility. I hope you find that peaceful place without memory of disappointment. I hope you get busy living.
I hope.
One of my favorite movies, "The Shawshank Redemption," speaks eloquently to the idea of hope. The story is about Andy, who is serving two life sentences after being wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife and her lover. And while there are few situations that would seem as hopeless as this, Andy ultimately finds freedom by refusing to abandon hope. Along the way, his friend and fellow inmate, Red, (who narrates the story) finds his own ideas about hope transformed.
In the following excerpt, Andy and Red have a conversation about music that reveals each character's views about hope:
Andy: That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you... Haven't you ever felt that way about music?
Red: I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it though. Didn't make much sense in here.
Andy: Here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget.
Red: Forget?
Andy: That there are things in this world not carved out of gray stone. That there's a small place inside of us they can never lock away, and that place is called hope.
Red: Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.
It can be tempting to view hope as dangerous, especially in the face of severe and unrelenting disappointment. But it is in the most trying circumstances of our lives that hope makes the most sense. In fact, it can be the difference between living life, or passing time waiting for death. Later in the story, Andy eloquently makes this point. Andy and Red talk about where they would go if they were free. Andy talks about his dream to live out the rest of his days in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. "You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific?" Andy asks Red, "They say it has no memory." I think this idea holds a key to the mystery of hope. We are most capable of hope when we allow ourselves to let go of the memory of disappointment. This can be difficult, but it is worth the effort. The vast Pacific Ocean is a beautiful metaphor for a state of being that has no memory. If we can learn to let our lives be washed clean of the hurts and disappointments that imprison us, we can open ourselves to hope, and with that hope comes the promise of freedom.
Later in the conversation about Mexico, Red gets frustrated with Andy, and tells him to give up his pipe dream. "Mexico's down there, and you're in here, and that's the way it is!" says Red. Andy responds, "You're right. It's down there, and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying." And that's what Andy does. He uses a small rock hammer to tunnel through the walls of the prison, and eventually he finds his way to freedom.
Some time after Andy's escape, Red is granted parole. He struggles with freedom, and even considers violating his parole so that he will be able to go back to the structure of prison. But then he goes to a field that Andy told him to visit if he ever found himself on the outside. There, buried in a box he finds a postcard that gives him a clue as to Andy's whereabouts, and a letter. At the end of the letter Andy writes, "Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies." There is another lesson. If Andy is right, then hope resides in all of us. It doesn't die, even when it is hidden from our consciousness. Even when it is buried in our despair. If we can let go of our hurt and disappointment for even a moment, we can allow ourselves to hope again. We just have to remember that hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.
Red decides to follow his friend, and embrace hope. As he rides a bus to the border, he narrates, "I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope." That is the experience that hope brings us. The anticipation of a journey. A journey to a place that is fresh with possibility. I hope you find that peaceful place without memory of disappointment. I hope you get busy living.
I hope.
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