Hope, undying hope, sustains us in our darkest days of adversity. We tenaciously cling to it no matter how hopeless the situation may be. Indeed, hoping against hope, as a last resort we often even will things to turn out favourably. And sometimes they do - it is, of course, nothing short of divine intervention.

Experience, of course, teaches us that when hope is tempered with realism, our sense of disappointment or loss is not so acute when things do not turn out as expected.

As a poet rightly observed, hope springs eternal in the human breast. No matter how much (or how fast) hope recedes, sheer desperation and intuition impel us never to abandon it altogether even if there is only a flicker left.

And so we clutch at its last vestiges even as it slowly slips out
of our grasp, leaving us totally devoid of it and consigning us to our God-given fate.

Hope is our first and last resort whenever we are anxious about the outcome of anything - personal or otherwise. Indeed, willy-nilly, everything we undertake in life somehow hinges on hope. We sincerely hope for the best to happen but meekly resign ourselves to accepting the worst if that is predestined by the Almighty.

The optimist may stoutly bank on hope and the pessimist may gloomily turn to fatalism. However, in a desperate situation it is only the potent power of prayer reinforced with hope that can bail us out.

Hope lies at the core of every human's heart. It is our last resort when all else fails besides being an age-old legacy that we pass on from generation to generation. Indeed, as long as the human race survives, so will hope - along with the fond and wistful belief that wars will end, universal peace and brotherhood will prevail and better sense will guide our world leaders.

All said and done, hope (like air) is one of life's vital essentials to keep
us buoyant and prevent us from slipping into the depths of despondency in a crisis.

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)