Why Was Hope Inside a Box of the World's Greatest Evils?
Question of the day: Do you believe that hope is good or do you believe it is evil?
Excerpt from Shaking in the Forest: Finding Light in the Darkness
Whenever I think about hope, I cannot help but remember the story of Pandora’s Box. For those who don’t know the story, Zeus had a daughter named Pandora, and she was sent to Earth as the first woman. After a Titan named Prometheus stole fire from heaven and gave it to humans, Zeus took revenge on humankind by giving Pandora a box with the warning not to open it, knowing full well she would. She was very curious, so one day, she stole the key from her husband and opened the box. Out flew ghostly forms, all the evils known to man, and they spread throughout the earth. As soon as Pandora realized what she had done, she quickly closed the box. The whole contents had escaped, except for one thing. At the very bottom of the box was the spirit of Hope.
The question that has plagued many is why hope was in a box full of evil. Is hope good, or is it bad? Some believe that hope is evil because it leads to disillusionment. Some believe that Zeus put hope into the box to keep humans going so that they would suffer longer and more terribly. With hope, people continue to go on through horrible circumstances. Therefore many believe that hope is the worst of all evils.
Others believe that hope being trapped at the bottom of the box expresses the belief that if you hold onto hope, all will never be lost. People believe that hope is good, and it allows people to overcome evil.
If you look at science, it shows that hope and optimism can mitigate torment. People who are optimistic tend to live happier and healthier lives. On the other hand, the effects of hope and optimism can depend on the specific contents of the hopeful belief. If you hope for things that cannot possibly happen, then you are dooming yourself to unanswered dreams and disillusionment.
When trying to determine my beliefs about whether hope is good or evil, I turn to two books as examples. The first is the book, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, which is the true story of Louis Zamperini. The part of the story that hit me the most was when he and ten of his crew crashed their plane into the sea during WWII. Only three survived the crash and had to live on a lifeboat for over forty-seven days. Two of the crew, including Zamperini, continued to believe that they would be rescued and did whatever possible to survive. The third crew member was in despair from the beginning of their ordeal and continually talked about how they would never survive, and all hope was lost. Out of the three crew members, this man was the only one to die. Zamperini and his other crew member that held onto hope survived. This same moral has been seen again and again in true stories of survival and resilience.
The other book is Gone with the Wind, written by Margaret Mitchell. My old roommate, Julian, read this book and was just horrified at how awful Scarlett O’Hara was to everyone around her. She was selfish, materialistic, and egotistical. But what he didn’t see was that it was Scarlett who got everyone through the war and into recovery. If it weren’t for her strength, determination, and, yes, hope, the entire family would have perished. Margaret Mitchell was interviewed once and asked what made her write this novel. She said she wanted to tell the story of the differences between those who are survivors and those who are victims. Some just lie down and give up when faced with terrible events. But others, like Scarlett, continue to pick themselves up, brush themselves off, and move forward. Scarlett was a survivor, just like Louis Zamperini, and both had the one thing considered by some to be an evil in the world—they had hope.
Are you one of those who believes hope is among the world’s worst evils, or do you remain optimistic about the future and believe hope will get you through? For me, I tend to be a glass is half full kind of girl, so I must believe that when Pandora opened the box and only hope was left behind, it signaled that if we hold onto hope, we will make it through whatever may come our way.
Excerpt from Shaking in the Forest: Finding Light in the Darkness
Whenever I think about hope, I cannot help but remember the story of Pandora’s Box. For those who don’t know the story, Zeus had a daughter named Pandora, and she was sent to Earth as the first woman. After a Titan named Prometheus stole fire from heaven and gave it to humans, Zeus took revenge on humankind by giving Pandora a box with the warning not to open it, knowing full well she would. She was very curious, so one day, she stole the key from her husband and opened the box. Out flew ghostly forms, all the evils known to man, and they spread throughout the earth. As soon as Pandora realized what she had done, she quickly closed the box. The whole contents had escaped, except for one thing. At the very bottom of the box was the spirit of Hope.
The question that has plagued many is why hope was in a box full of evil. Is hope good, or is it bad? Some believe that hope is evil because it leads to disillusionment. Some believe that Zeus put hope into the box to keep humans going so that they would suffer longer and more terribly. With hope, people continue to go on through horrible circumstances. Therefore many believe that hope is the worst of all evils.
Others believe that hope being trapped at the bottom of the box expresses the belief that if you hold onto hope, all will never be lost. People believe that hope is good, and it allows people to overcome evil.
If you look at science, it shows that hope and optimism can mitigate torment. People who are optimistic tend to live happier and healthier lives. On the other hand, the effects of hope and optimism can depend on the specific contents of the hopeful belief. If you hope for things that cannot possibly happen, then you are dooming yourself to unanswered dreams and disillusionment.
When trying to determine my beliefs about whether hope is good or evil, I turn to two books as examples. The first is the book, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, which is the true story of Louis Zamperini. The part of the story that hit me the most was when he and ten of his crew crashed their plane into the sea during WWII. Only three survived the crash and had to live on a lifeboat for over forty-seven days. Two of the crew, including Zamperini, continued to believe that they would be rescued and did whatever possible to survive. The third crew member was in despair from the beginning of their ordeal and continually talked about how they would never survive, and all hope was lost. Out of the three crew members, this man was the only one to die. Zamperini and his other crew member that held onto hope survived. This same moral has been seen again and again in true stories of survival and resilience.
The other book is Gone with the Wind, written by Margaret Mitchell. My old roommate, Julian, read this book and was just horrified at how awful Scarlett O’Hara was to everyone around her. She was selfish, materialistic, and egotistical. But what he didn’t see was that it was Scarlett who got everyone through the war and into recovery. If it weren’t for her strength, determination, and, yes, hope, the entire family would have perished. Margaret Mitchell was interviewed once and asked what made her write this novel. She said she wanted to tell the story of the differences between those who are survivors and those who are victims. Some just lie down and give up when faced with terrible events. But others, like Scarlett, continue to pick themselves up, brush themselves off, and move forward. Scarlett was a survivor, just like Louis Zamperini, and both had the one thing considered by some to be an evil in the world—they had hope.
Are you one of those who believes hope is among the world’s worst evils, or do you remain optimistic about the future and believe hope will get you through? For me, I tend to be a glass is half full kind of girl, so I must believe that when Pandora opened the box and only hope was left behind, it signaled that if we hold onto hope, we will make it through whatever may come our way.
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