"Appetite, with an opinion of attaining, is called hope; the same, without such opinion, despair."

Hope is a dangerous thing in this fickle world. The line between desperation and elation is formed by by the resolution of hope; and hope is formed through the soul's desire for the resolution of the human condition. In a world in which dreams so rarely come true and Murphy's Law need not be spoken, hope can become more tragic than the unfulfilled dreams they've left behind. But should we then give up hope? Should we resign ourselves to what is realistically our fate? Hope would seem to be more cruel than the world we test it in. Without hope, without dreams, we might never know the sting of defeat or the pain of unrealized potential. Without hope, we might not waste our time on lost causes or reclamation projects. But we must not lose hope. Hope not only connects us to this world but it binds us to the positive future. We must consider that the reward of hope always, always, outweighs the futility of a life devoid of purpose. Hope is direction, hope is north, hope is the call. While hope may well create pain, to be numb in its absence denies us the chance to feel and breathe. Hope gives the soul its license to feel, for better or worse. So whenever we wish, whenever we rejoice, whenever we cry, it is the return of an investment in hope.