For me, in the good times,
hope is synonymous with trust.
I move into the next moment
with confidence and
an expectation
of goodness.
In the hard times,
hope takes on
an increasing feeling of risk.
I hope for the best,
but the approaching moment
feels uncertain,
even scary.
And in the worst of times—
hope and desire
may be reduced
to a bare ember
so faint
as to be
almost undetectable.
But it is always there.
And sooner or later
we are drawn to it.
I believe,
through repeated experiences
of touching that desire,
we do learn—
to recognize it,
claim it,
and know it
as who we really are.
Gerald May, from The Dark Night of the Soul
(formatted as a poem, with minimal alterations by Michael Hudson)
