What is hope? An old definition of the word “hope” is “a feeling of trust.” In the modern vernacular, hope is defined as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” This author prefers to describe hope as the song of the heart that soothes the troubled mind and the weary soul enabling the belief that although things may not be as expected at this particular moment, all is not lost, for there does shine a light at the end of a seemingly dark tunnel. Or, as Desmond Tutu so aptly expressed it, “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

In essence, hope invigorates the mind and gives vitality to an otherwise doleful life. Hope gives a person the courage to continue to press forward at times when it may seem that there is no reason to push forward. In the words of Fyodor Dostoevsky, “To live without Hope is to Cease to live.”

On 19 September 2016, the Piano Guys released a new music video on their YouTube channel featuring Al van der Beek singing vocals. The song is a rousing cover of “Okay” by Andy Grammar and Dave Bassett. In the description of the song, they write:

We’re all struggling with something – a debilitating weakness or illness. Or someone we love is barely holding on.

We watch the news. We see the tweets, the Facebook posts. The YouTube comments!

Media can make the world look bleak. They’ve given themselves this job description, in part because there’s a darker side on the surface of human nature that feeds on fear and cynicism. But deep down, we are beings of light. And in the end, since darkness is merely the absence of light, and light will inevitably overcome dark.

This is the essence of hope. And the essence of this song. “No matter what you’ve been through, no matter if you think you’re falling apart, it’s gonna be okay.”

We may not be able to change the events of the past, but we do have some control over the events of the present, and with the right attitude and a willingness and determination to press forward, we can indeed look ahead and envision brighter tomorrows. Norman Cousins, an American political journalist, author, professor, and world peace advocate, once said, “The capacity for hope is the most significant fact of life. It provides human beings with a sense of destination and the energy to get started.”