Hope and Fear

We tend to fear that over which we feel we have no control. Hope comes when we gain a feeling of control. Fear is projected disability; hence it is disabling. Hope is projected ability; hence it is facilitating. Fear in the face of the controllable is pathological, imperfect. Hope in the face of the uncontrollable is faith, a perfection.

We cannot make others love us, so without trust we fear losing their love. We can decide to love others, so with self–control, to love is our only hope.

We have control over our actions, but not over their results. Action is dependent upon hope, for even flight in the face of that which we fear is made in the hope of escape. Fear of the results of our actions regulates those actions, and is learned through experience. Hope leads us into activities that experience has told us produce good results. This is the secret of reward and punishment.

If fear and hope are both subject to learning and knowledge, they must be perfections. All situations include controllable and uncontrollable aspects. The degree of relative controllability, be it inherent in the inner or outer environment, is proportional to the degree of difficulty or ease with which an action is carried out. The greater the uncontrollability or difficulty, the more courage is required to overcome the disabling effects of the fear it inspires.

Courage is the result of faith, which in turn is the conscious knowledge of the trustworthiness of an event, such as the rising of the sun, based on previous experience. The greater the frequency and/or intensity (significance) of this experience, the stronger is the faith, and hence the greater is the courage. Finally, courage can also come with the presence of a strong other in whom one has faith.

(January 1985)