Hope

I think the best way to describe Hope is to describe what it isn't.  We can have a Desire that is more like a Demand.  We think we're entitled to it or that it is our right to have it.  This kind of Desire is like forcing someone else to give us what we want or at least having that attitude about it.  

But on the other hand, we could also have very little Desire.  Instead of Hope, we have hopelessness and apathy.  We don't really think it's possible to obtain our Desire.  We may think about it but only in a dreamy way and say, "If only..."

Hope is about setting goals to obtain something that we have the faith that we can actually obtain.  Not alone.  Not because we can work way hard to obtain it but because we work together with our Cause to obtain it.  We believe he will help us as we help ourselves.  It's not all about Grace and no Works but neither is it about all Works and no Grace.  It is the balance between them.

Listen:  "Not Alone" by Red 

When we have Hope, we have communicated with our Cause and made a deal with him.  Promises are made.  We sense our Cause's promise and he senses ours.  We've entered into a commitment relationship with him that we will do all we can do for our part and rely on him to do his part for the rest.  We commit to actually being trained in the Inherent Process to obtain our Desire instead of sacrificing in a Willy-Nilly way and expecting that after we do that we are entitled to receive it.

Listen:  "The Promise" by When In Rome

So Hope is not the absence of passion, drive, and single-mindedness that sometimes may be mistaken for Demand.  It includes all those things.  It is not the absence of faith in a power greater than our own to assist us that may seem miraculous, like something out of a dream or a fantasy.  Some may mistake that for a type of dreamy apathy.  But when we have Hope we believe in miracles that enable us to obtain our Desire.

"For with God nothing shall be impossible." ~Luke 1:37

"Be still and know that I am God." ~Psalms 46:10 

With some Desires, we may not be able to muster enough Hope for them.  The reason may be that we can't believe we can really obtain something no matter how hard we try.  Or the reason may be that it's something we don't really need, meaning it's not that important or it's not expedient.  Like, let's say my Desire is to move a mountain just to see if I can do it.  That's whimsical if there's no real purpose or benefit for me or for humanity.  But for other Desires, even though they may seem out of this world, we may actually have real Hope.  Maybe what we want has never been done before but we sense that it is possible.  Paying attention to that sense of Hope enables us to know what is possible and what isn't.  Thus if we have formed a Desire that we have Hope for, we can know that it is obtainable if we just keep going, trust in our Cause, and endure to the end.

For more on this topic, see blog post: "I Wish..." and the book "Drawing on the Powers of Heaven" by Grant Von Harrison.