Why I Choose Hope — What Now NYC

Friends, here’s the deal; we are in the thick of it here in NYC. I have been self-quarantined for over 3 weeks now with no sign of this lifting anytime soon. Experts say the peak will come around mid-April. The sound of ambulance sirens are heard in my neighborhood much more frequently these days, a sign this virus is all around me. I try and stay positive, but without yet seeing a light and the end of the tunnel it’s a bit daunting. The economy is sliding further and further into the start of a scary recession. This seems to be having an effect on the market that will, in the end, be worse than 9/11 and 2008 combined. I am furloughed from my job and have called the unemployment office hundreds of times over the past week and have yet to even make it into the cue. I don’t expect to see any money for a while. Times are tough. It’s all uncertain and scary and it is so easy to let our minds go to the darkest places. Here’s the thing though, we have two choices…despair and hope. I’m choosing hope. I am not watching the news or reading anything on the internet. Some people argue that we need to know what is going on, and this is true, but there is a difference between learning the facts, and dwelling on the negative. I find no reason to watch the news right now. If something big happens I’m sure I will certainly find out from one of the 10 group chats I am currently in. I’ve chosen to stay in a bubble, and my bubble has kept me surprisingly optimistic.

I was speaking to a friend the other day who was so amazed with my positive mood. He told me he was envious of people who have “faith” and believe in God because it certainly “rationalizes” what is going on. What I explained to him is that you do not have to be a religious person and believe in God to choose hope. Yes, it does help to have faith and religion and to believe in a God that I pray to each night and ask for salvation for all the people suffering, but even without that, we can still choose to look at this in a positive light, because what good is the alternative? Let’s just say for arguments sake that all this faith and hope stuff is bullshit. That there is no God, no higher power and we are all just doomed. In the end will having hope have been a waste of time? Wouldn’t we be better served at least trying to believe this will all come out ok? If we choose hope and then in the end it was all BS there still will have been no time wasted, no loss of energy, and assuming we all make it out of this, wouldn’t our hope make us even stronger for future struggles? I recognize I have been fortunate to not have a loved one infected by this awful virus and I might feel very differently if I had. That being said, what good is being sucked into the abyss of despair?

Fear does serve a purpose. Experts in psychology have talked about how fear, in a way, keeps us safe. Fear is what makes us put on gloves and a mask before we go to the grocery store. Fear is what makes us stay home instead of disregarding all the medical professionals and just carrying on with our lives. Fear is what guides us to make safe choices, and it definitely does have it’s place especially now, however, once we are doing all that we can do why let fear run our thoughts and our mind into irrational thinking? If I let my mind go into the dark places for even ten minutes I know that it will get lost there, and what will follow will be a night full of anxiety and depression. I just don’t see how that serves me at all. It is human nature to think worst thoughts and to become addicted to the suffering, once again, it is also a choice, and I’m choosing hope. Hope that this is all happening for a reason. Hope for the future and better days, and hope is what’s getting me through. Imagine the day that we can see our loved ones again after months, and hug them. Imagine how good it will feel to have our freedom back. I guarantee we will certainly appreciate it way more than we did before.

Now my friends, I would like to share with you a few more of my favorite quotes on hope in order to brighten your day, make your week feel a bit lighter, and share with you the hope that I have in my heart.

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness” - Desmond Tutu

“Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” - Vaclav Havel

“I simply can’t build my hopes on a foundation of confusion, misery and death…I think…peace and tranquility will return again.” - Anne Frank

“If it were not for hopes, the heart would break.” - Thomas Fuller