One Basic Need Costs Nothing To Find And Everything To Lose

People have basic needs besides food, shelter, and love. There is one other basic need that’s as important as any of the rest, but it’s the one that’s talked about the least.

Hope is in short supply from one side of the planet to the other. The world’s been through a lot in the past couple of years. There is little sign of the toils we all suffer getting any easier. Newer and more complicated struggles continue to show up as we pull out of the pandemic. The price of hope may be small, but fewer people have hope today than at any time in recent memory.

Advantages of Hope

Hope is free. Seeing past the distractions of the world is the hard part. If we look around, we can find things that give us hope. But, what is hope?

Hope is a feeling, expectation, or desire for a certain thing to happen.

Our hopes are what drive us. When we hope to achieve a goal, we’ll work toward that goal at every chance. If you’re hoping to buy a new car, you’ll work towards putting away a downpayment. You’ll monitor your savings, you’ll put in the extra hours, and you’ll sacrifice to make that hope a reality.

Parents are filled with hope along with their fears for their children's futures. With every generation of kids comes the hopes that they outperform their parents. Who doesn’t want that?

Hope is an important piece of the human condition. The hope for a better tomorrow can mean the difference between staying positive and living a very dark, negative, life. Hope can fuel a person just as much as the food we consume. It can energize and refresh a person.

Fear The Man With No Hope

“A man with no hope is a man with nothing to lose.”

— Unknown

People who have no hope are suffering. They’re suffering more than the rest of the world.

Right now, in Ukraine, people are holding onto hope that they can expel the Russian War machine. People that haven’t been home for a while are hoping that their homes will still be standing. Mothers are hoping that their sons and daughters will survive the horrors of war.

They’re all being given hope by their President and the support of the rest of the world. Their President has become an inspirational figure in the world over the past few weeks. Unlike many world leaders, he’s taken a stance and has remained in Ukraine despite being offered the chance to evacuate. He’s been seen on social media, dressed in tactical gear, encouraging his people’s efforts against Russia and the invading army.

What about those with no hope. People with no hope are without something to hold on to. They’re untethered to the world by the possibilities of things to come. People without hope are prone to making desperate decisions, rather than decisions based on intellect.

Tomorrows are what hope is built upon. They are the foundations of hope. We all have to believe in a better tomorrow, or we slowly lose hope. Those with no hope, have absolutely nothing to lose anymore. They don’t see possibilities in tomorrow. When there are no more possibilities, our lives feel failed. This is why people without hope are ones that we should fear.

The Costs Of Hope

Having hope, or finding it, is free. We just have to do the work. The true cost of hope comes from the absence of hope.

Each time someone completely loses hope, they face a potential mental health crisis. While they may do something desperate, or dangerous, to solve their problems those that lose hope can become severely depressed. They may become so depressed they don’t sleep, they don’t eat right, and begin to show anxiety. Too much anxiety around the people they care for can cause them to push loved ones and friends away. This costs them the support system they need in their corners, the people that remind them that tomorrow is another chance.

People suffering from desperation and without hope are prone to suicidal ideations. They may begin to think life isn’t worth living. When this happens, they are extremely dangerous to themselves, and potentially to those around them.

Looking out for those that may be suffering from a crisis of hopelessness is tough to do. People can feel hopeless inside and fake their feelings on the outside. If a professional that enjoys their job and makes good money can’t find true love, they may feel hopelessly alone. If someone makes an error in judgment that threatens to upend their lives, they may hide that reality while struggling against the effects of that mistake. If nothing ever gets better, they may lose hope and become desperate, or depressed, while hiding their failure.

Conclusion

Considering all of the basic needs of humankind, hope is the most important one of them all. It is as important as food, water, shelter, and love.

If you’re feeling hopeless, consider the cost of hope. It’s the cheapest of our basic needs to fulfill. Look around the world. In the laughing, smiling faces of children rest the hope of the future. With each sunrise that we have, there’s the hope of a better tomorrow. With each time we get knocked down, there’s the hope that it will be the last.

If hopelessness has led to being desperate, depressed, or miserable then getting some help is important. Talking to a friend is essential, if not a loved one. If nothing else, speaking to a professional about your feelings is always an option. Whatever you do, until you find your hope, talk to someone. Right now there a nearly 8 billion people on a planet that’s threatened weekly by the reemergence of war and nuclear weapons in the hands of Vladimir Putin. With the fear of economies crashing, nuclear obliteration, war, and Covid everybody’s had plenty of reason to feel hopeless about the world.