Losing or Lost Hope can be Freedom

Vastmind

Hope has a dark side in the way that it impacts the mind.

It’s an intense yearning for something to happen: You hope to conquer anxiety or depression. You hope to get into your favorite college. You hope to find love one day. You hope to overcome the pesky problem that’s weighing you down. You hope the Detroit Lions will (please) just win one Super Bowl.

Hope can become an ironic mental prison by its mere intensity and dominance of your thoughts.

Letting go of whatever dominates your mind (including hope) instantly frees it to think of other things such as warm breezes, the beauty of friendship, and the simplicity of enjoying a meal. We lose out on these small joys of life when our big problems take more than their deserved mindshare.

But there’s still the issue of hope. Why would letting go of hope—something seen as positive—bring freedom and not darkness?

This a good read…..
https://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-losing-all-hope-can-be-freedom/

I’ve accepted some things can’t be beaten….only let go of….or otherwise dealt with.

Jeroen

This reminds me of a discussion I had with my Dad some weeks ago about the news. He watches quite a bit of news you see, while I’ve taken to just reading the front page of the Dutch national news service once a day.

For him it is about staying up to date with current affairs, while for me it’s acknowledging that news is largely driven by propaganda value for the materialist society and is far from impartial. I learn more from YouTube most weeks than I do from the regular news, and find my mind is far more quiet and peaceful for it.

The thing is, the vast majority of things on the news do not benefit us at all to know them. They happened in the past, or are far away, or are in another way beyond our power to influence. You are better off letting go of these things.

Vastmind

I stay informed….and bec of the reasons you mentioned, am very picky about my news sources. Im just not the type that ignorance is bliss, hahaha…I want to know….its just taken me most of my life to learn NOT to digest it or wear the burden of the tragedy . I stay active in the causes I’m passionate about, and let go of the hope and expectations of the entire human race.
I try my best within my community, and leave the rest up to happenstance ,frankly.
This world was fucked up before me and will be after me. I can play my small, but effective part on the world stage.

The other arena is my kids. I ‘hoped’ and expected a lot/different things than how THAT turned out, hahaha. 🫨😅

Disappointment is when your mind made an appointment and reality dissed it.

SuraShine

@Vastmind said:

Disappointment is when your mind made an appointment and reality dissed it.

100%

person

Hope is very much related to outcome. All you can really do is control what you do, some actions will lead you closer to a desired outcome than others, but ultimately the outcome is beyond your control.

Fosdick

Hope would seem to represent a spectrum of related mental activities. It could be argued, I think, that belief is the extreme upper end of that spectrum, but even belief can have its uses. Can you find the middle way without first knowing the extremes? How can hope be used skillfully? Mindfully? Do hope and fear go hand in hand?

At 80 years of age, the hopes - and yes, beliefs - that long dominated much of my own thinking have faded away, along with most of the questions that once seemed so urgent.
I find it quite liberating - even illuminating. Hopes remain, but seem unimportant. Everything will proceed as it will - enjoy the ride.

zorro

Reminds me of Janis Joplin--"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose".

lobster

It is the weight given to thunking (thinking with extra clunck) that needs to wait a passing ...

Thoughts pass, importance as mentioned is not so set in cement. Soon we will join ye olde and wiser, the dead and the falling leaves of the forest ...

Fosdick

@zorro

Reminds me of Janis Joplin--"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose".>

More like rebirth, actually - a fresh start, a whole new set of mistakes waiting to be made.

lobster

….only let go of….

This about forgiving and letting go might also be helpful ...

Vastmind

^^^^^ ooooooo that was good! 👏🏻

marcitko

I have not read through this whole discussion but based on the topic title am reminded:

• a realized teacher once said that he came to the realization one day that "life will not turn out". In the sense, his hopes and dreams will not materialize. He found that curiously freeing. He said that going forward this really put him in the present moment and eradicated most of his thinking about the past and future.