Hope: a necessary delusion
“Hope is a waking dream” — Aristotle
How do you coax yourself into doing something you do not wish to do? Do you find yourself resorting to the classic “and then I’ll be happy” arguments to justify tirelessly toiling away at work by dreaming of a promotion, which you believe to be the final frontier standing between you and the ever-elusive happiness.
Only when you get the promotion, the elation is short-lived, and the desire to do yet more consumes your attention? Does life seem to be a vicious cycle of striving towards goals, and then continuing to strive towards yet more goals as you fulfil your initial goals? In your unwavering dedication to achieve your next goal to attain happiness, do you end up sacrificing the very thing you longed to feel more of?
Reflect on your own life, and you will realise that there have been countless instances where you have willingly relinquished your happiness in order to achieve something else. What does this behaviour suggest? Happiness is not an end — merely a means. Although it may seem to us that all we ever want in life is to be happy, upon reflecting on our lives, one realises that happiness was never enough for us. Happiness will never be enough.
No, happiness is not what we seek. We seek purpose: a reason for being. Think back to why nothing is ever enough — why you don’t settle at a decent job, and instead chase a promotion. Why a good grade is never enough — it’s always about the next exam, and then the one after that.
Contentment is unattainable — by design.
Discontent is interwoven into every fibre of our being. We are inherently discontent creatures: for at any given point in time, there is at least one more thing that we would like to have. Here, “thing” does not necessarily refer to a physical object or even a service, rather, it encompasses the whole spectrum of human needs and desires. Even if you do not desire any material goods, for instance, you might desire to be able to spend more time with your family.
Discontent, displeasurable though it may be, is fundamental to our survival as a species. Why? Because the moment one attains contentment — the moment one is fulfilled, there is no reason for them to get up from bed in the morning. No reason for them to work hard & strive towards another goal. And it is this culture of striving for more, that forms the backbone of modern society.
This is not to say that contentment isn’t possible — it certainly is. Contentment, however, is fleeting, whereas discontentment is a chronic condition. It is the constant. The default.
And if this is true, I wonder, if discontent is truly in our nature, then how bleak is the human condition? We chase goals with the hope that achieving them will bring us contentment, but contentment is fleeting — it is nothing more than a mirage, nothing more than an empty promise, a false hope.
A hope, that keeps us going. A hope, that fuels us, even during the darkest of hours, to push through — all for the sole purpose of attaining an ideal that cannot be attained.
But perhaps hope is all we need. To the weary traveler wandering in the ocean of sand that is a desert, the mere idea of finding water is as good a source of sustenance as the water itself. If there were no hope from the outset, what reason would we have to exist? Perhaps a false promise is better than none at all. Consider the case of a solider at the frontline, who fights a losing battle. Why does he continue to fight but for hope?
As Aristotle aptly put it — “hope is a waking dream.”
