When I think about hope, its interrelation with faith comes to my mind. I believe that my faith in God has a big part of why I am hopeful in life. But I understand that there are people who do not believe in a higher being or any other beliefs but are also hopeful and has a positive outlook on life. With me, the hope that I have for my future is driven by my faith and what I believe in.
In my Integral Human Development class, the guest speaker, John Reily Baluyot, told us his story of hope—h^is story of being accepted by his own family. One thing that amazed me was that he was hopeful that one day his parents, particularly his dad, would accept him for who he is, and eventually, it did happen. He never lost hope and continued to go and pursue his goals. The only part that fascinates me is that he never mentioned God or faith in that story. I do not know if I just did not hear it. But as far as I can remember, faith was not his driving force of hope.
This circumstance was very different from mine. For me, faith is a big reason why I am hopeful. If I did not have faith, I would most probably be a hopeless person. I am not the most optimistic person and am an over-thinker. I do worry a lot, though, sometimes for a reason. Most often, I worry about nothing.
I believe hope is something you can influence other people. A person could inspire others to become hopeful through their own experiences and life stories, just like how the class speaker shared his life with us. Through this, he conveyed that anyone could be hopeful and so would achieve their goals and dreams.
Looking back, I realized that this was a reminder to me and everyone in the class that our experiences, whether big or small, are valuable and could be a source of hope to other people.
Let me share with you a simple story of hope. When the pandemic happened last year, I felt so hopeless for the first time in my life. I was afraid that I might have the virus without knowing and spreading it to the people around me.
I was so worried that we might get the virus through going out. I was paranoid that every time a family member went outside, they might get the virus. It may seem like a normal response to the COVID outbreak, but not for me. In my mind, I knew I should not be like this. I knew that my thoughts were wrong. I knew I was panicking too much. That feeling stayed longer, and I felt hopeless at that time.
The fact that we could not do anything, the lack of information we had during those early days of COVID, and the amount of misinformation we read every day made me feel that way.
It was a difficult time since I could not control my thoughts anymore. I became more and more pessimistic. It was a tough battle, particularly in my mind. But what made me pass that stage? My answer to that is prayer and the Bible. I diligently prayed and asked God for wisdom, sound mind, peace of mind, and hope. I remind myself that my only hope is the Lord our God during these trying times. The Lord showed me that I should lean on Him in so many ways, and the only hope to hold onto in this pandemic is through Him.
And yes, He sustained our needs. We never had COVID, and I am very thankful for that. Lastly, he gave me peace—a peace of mind that could stand its ground during battles.
The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business, DLSU.
She can be reached at [email protected].
The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty and its administrators.