Could "hope" be the jail-keeper?

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Let's take a simple example.

 

When someone says, "I hope I pass the test this time," what are they truly expressing?

 

Are they implying, "If I fail, it must mean something is wrong"?

 

Or perhaps, "By simply hoping, success might somehow be handed to me"?

 

Maybe it’s a way of saying, "I’m afraid of confronting the possibility of failure, so I’ll shield myself with hope to avoid that fear."

 

Could it mean, "Hoping lets me escape the responsibility of fully committing to studying for this test"?

 

Or is it a subtle plea: "By expressing hope, I want others to view me as a good and worthy person"?

 

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Just one possible great meaning for "hope"

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If I said, "I hope she'll say 'yes' to my request," and what I mean is, "I'm playing the game of getting her to say 'yes'. Maybe she will, maybe she won't. Being happy to accept the risk that she won't and the possibility that she will, I'm going to ask her," then that's a powerful way to use the word "hope."

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Only by using the word "hope" in this way, and in this way only, do the upsides exceed the downsides.

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Pandora's Box

(the true story)

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Once, in a time when gods walked among mortals, Zeus, the king of the gods, grew enraged by humanity's defiance. He devised a cunning plan to punish them, one that would bind their spirits and ensnare their minds. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the divine craftsman, to mold a woman from clay, perfect in form and irresistible in beauty. This woman, named Pandora, was imbued with gifts from all the gods—charm, wit, curiosity—and a fatal flaw: an unquenchable inquisitiveness.

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To Pandora, Zeus entrusted a sealed jar. He warned her never to open it, knowing her curiosity would eventually overcome her. This jar was no ordinary vessel; it was a trap, containing all the evils Zeus intended to unleash upon the world.

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In time, Pandora's curiosity grew unbearable. One fateful day, she lifted the lid. Out poured a swarm of horrors—disease, despair, greed, malice, envy, and every imaginable cruelty. These evils scattered like shadows across the earth, infecting humanity with their venom.

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Terrified, Pandora slammed the lid shut. But she was too late; the jar was nearly empty. Nearly. For one thing remained inside: a soft, glittering essence that called itself "Hope."

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At first, hope seemed like a blessing—a glimmer of light amid darkness. But the gods, in their infinite wisdom, had hidden its true nature. For hope was no salvation. It was the ultimate evil, a quiet and insidious torment. Where the other evils crushed bodies, hope crushed minds, whispering, "Endure this suffering; better days are ahead."

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Hope chained humanity to their misery. With its encouragement, they bore their burdens longer, suffered tyrants' cruelty without revolt, and clung to the faint promise of change while remaining passive. In Zeus's design, hope ensured that mortals would never rise up, never seek true freedom from their pain, but instead live perpetually in quiet despair, endlessly tolerating their tormentors in the name of a better tomorrow.

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And so, Pandora's act not only brought evil into the world—it sealed humanity's fate. For with hope in their hearts, they accepted every injustice, enduring endless cycles of suffering while dreaming of salvation that would never come.