TankaTuesday challenge #14 – a seox of hope

Hollow hope

The daughter of desire

Living in a pale light

Outside the moment

Tightly gripping

Hollow hope

Faltering

Walking down a darkened path

Twin sisters, Fear and Hope

Bring uncertainty

Inconstant joy

Faltering

---

This week’s #tankaTuesday challenge involves writing a piece about hope. While we could pick any syllabic form, I decided to pick the same one as the host of this challenge – a seox. I found it rather interesting. Plus, there’s no point in a challenge if you aren’t trying something new. 😉

As you can probably guess by the name, it’s six lines, with the pattern being 3,7,6,5,4,3. Traditionaly, the first and last lines are the same.

My view on hope

I have a Zen Buddhist outlook on life, so I don’t hold much stock in “hope.” Hope is a direct byproduct of desire. Desire is typically tied to our unhappiness and suffering.

Sure, we all bandy the word around. Even I do.

“I hope it’s not going to rain tomorrow!”

Sometimes, hope is all we have. This is especially true when it comes to a loved one who is sick or dying. I’ve been there, too.

It’s not all bad, but it should be used sparingly. Too much reliance on hope keeps one outside the moment – wishing for a future that may or may not come. In turn, it can make one resentful when the anticipated outcome doesn’t manifest. It can also leave one feeling powerless or make us vulnerable to false promises.

My tie-in with fear comes from Spinoza.  One of his famous quotes is:

There is no hope without fear. There is no fear without hope.

Fear isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. It’s a mechanism for staying out of dangerous situations. Too much fear, though, will freeze you in place and make it difficult to live a satisfying life. Likewise, hope had a similar effect. It keeps you focused on a desired future outcome, while the present moment slips by unnoticed.