‘A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.’ ~ Elbert Hubbard
Desmond Tutu, a Bishop from South Africa, says accurately: ‘Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.’ Unlike Faith that is built on things not seen, Hope is built on Faith. Without Faith there is no Hope. Based on Faith in a promise grows Hope to see the fulfillment of the promise one day. Faith is built on past experience and a well established Truth, while Hope looks into the future with confidence rooted in unshakable Faith. ‘…Hope involves optimism, motivation and strategy.’ It is essential in life to keep our environment optimistic. Be it home, workplace or classroom, an optimistic ambience is a prerequisite to harmonious and fruitful progress. Hopeful optimism breathes like fresh air through rooms and living quarters. To create such an environment a certain strategy is needed: While giving feedback of any sort or while communicating, if language is carefully chosen and positive expressions used, the result is marvelous. If children are involved, a realistic and hopeful example of daily living will impress them for life. Let the children know that life consists of all sorts of events. How we face them, how we deal with them and how we grow out of them, defines those events as either good or bad. Hope and optimism possess the power to turn a bad event into a good memory. It’s good to remind oneself when passing through a difficulty that the current situation is temporary and at the end of the tunnel the sun beckons with a warm smile to hope for better times. Reminding friends or family members of former achievements once thought impossible to reach, can render fresh hope for future achievements though they might be even tougher than previous ones.
In absence of hope there is despair, misery, hopelessness and depression. Raymond Williams, a Welsh academic and novelist, said, “To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing.” It doesn’t cost anyone anything to boost themselves and those around them with a little extra hope to dispel despair. In the face of steadfast hope and optimism despair and depression pack off and flee, as they can’t stand in front of Hope built on Faith, their arguments not being backed by steadfast Truth. Thus their slippery assertions will dissolve into thin air. But give doubt and despair an ear – just part of an ear – and their pessimistic arguments will pierce your heart asunder, threatening your very existence and survival. Therefore awareness is essential to discern the voices all around. Are they hopeful, edifying and elevating or are they breathing negativity resulting in death? Despair is like a dark prison cell. All around only thick gray mouldy walls. Nothing to motivate or to encourage: Nothing but despair everywhere. Unless one possesses the key called Hope, there’s no way to escape from the prison cell called Despair! Hope fits exactly into the keyhole of the heavy lock. Maybe the lock is already rusty due to a lengthy overstay at the prison cell Despair. Some oil of courage needs to be applied and the key will turn around to snap this hefty lock. Aching joints need to be flexed; a deep breath taken to clear a foggy mind. Summoning the last speck of inner determination, the prisoner of Despair needs to heave up his weighty body and take the step of Faith combined with Hope into the sunlight of another new morning of freedom from Despair and Depression. Let me quote Bernard Williams here who was an English philosopher and author who was knighted in 1999: “There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.”
There’s no need to hope for something that is already received. Why would someone have to hope for something that is already achieved? To hope without evidence of a solution needs courage and faith in the Supreme. Hope works through patience while being joyful in hoping. Anxious anticipation is not hopeful expectation. A hopeful outlook triggers positive vibrations that in the course of waiting keeps an individual on a sure track to inherit the result of steadfast Hope. In springtime a farmer tills the land and sows his seed full of hope, looking forward in good hope to receive the wages of his tireless labour in the form of a plentiful harvest in autumn. He needs to dare to throw out his seed. It’s connected with risk. Yet every year come Spring, we watch the farmers sowing their precious seed, prayerfully hoping for a blessed harvest.
The ultimate goal though of souls on the earthly plane is liberation from the cycle of birth and death. This liberation is beyond the freedom attained through Hope from the prison cell called Despair. Liberation includes a realisation of reality and transcending the limitations of the physical plane where one needs to surrender attachment to desire, even including hope. Hope associated with despair ultimately fosters resilience involving expectation and desire. However liberation from hope through acceptance for whatever is as the will of the Supreme, can lead to true bliss.
About Johanna D.S. Chittranjan (Johanna Devadayavu)
Poet | Philanthropist | Co-Founder of Laharinagar
Johanna D.S. Chittranjan, known in literary and spiritual circles as Johanna Devadayavu, is a revered poet and humanitarian of Swiss origin who has lived in South India for over forty years. A woman of gentle strength and profound introspection, she has dedicated her life to cultivating love, peace, and spiritual awareness through poetry and compassionate action. Together with her late husband, Lawrie Devadayavu, she co-founded Laharinagar, a serene spiritual retreat nestled in the verdant landscape of South India. More than a sanctuary, Laharinagar is a living embodiment of their shared vision—where harmony with nature, meditative silence, and human connection converge. It continues to inspire seekers, poets, and pilgrims from around the world. Johanna’s poetry is a quiet revolution—her voice emerges from a soul attuned to the rhythms of the earth and the divine heartbeat of humanity. Her work is marked by simplicity, emotional depth, and luminous imagery drawn from her lived experiences. In her verses, she embodies multiple facets of human existence: the devoted wife, nurturing mother, reflective grandmother, diasporic soul, nature lover, and spiritual pilgrim.
Her published works include:
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Flight of a Turtledove – A lyrical celebration of inner peace, nature’s wisdom, and the healing essence of love.
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Hope Beyond Perplexity – Poetic reflections that offer solace and insight amid life’s confusions.
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The Call of the Turtledove for Universal Peace: Meditations on Love Divine – A contemplative volume echoing the spiritual call for harmony and compassion.
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Turtledove of Sundered Skies – A deeply personal and poetic tribute to her late husband, suffused with devotion and remembrance.
Through these works, Johanna offers readers a pathway back to what is essential—stillness, sincerity, and soul. Her pantheistic sensibilities and unwavering faith in the goodness of life flow naturally into her poetry, which serves as both sanctuary and guide for the weary and the awakened alike. A quiet force of benevolence, Johanna Devadayavu continues to inspire through her written word and her lived presence. Her journey is one of transcendence through tenderness, and in every flight of the turtledove, one hears the echo of her heart—soft, unwavering, and eternally serene.
