Mode of Hope
To act or not to act… with every decision to be somewhere, do something, fight for something, we interfere with the configuration of the world. While it is one thing to theorise, attempts to produce material change with isolated words remain superficial. Ultimately, our tool to interact with our surroundings is action and it is in the moment of action that we experience that the world is not static, that things can change. Hope emerges through action as an attitude to the events we are confronted with. These actions do not always have to be big to have an impact. Indeed it is the small things, the almost unnoticeable things, that form a habitus, which defines how we treat one another and the communities we build. Sometimes, it is the big events in our life that change who we are. Other times, it is just one moment, an encounter, a game, in which we are called to action, that can inspire us to act differently in the future.
Hope manifests through participation rather than belief alone. To enter a game, touch an artwork, or engage with another person is already to perform an act of hope. Such actions assume that something meaningful may emerge from the encounter. Hope is therefore enacted through gestures of involvement, cooperation, and experimentation. It is less a feeling than a practice that unfolds through doing. is always a sign of hope, even when it is pessimistic. Something, from me to you, wants saying. Without hope, there is no point.” Lysaker, John T.. "Hope". Hope, Trust, and Forgiveness: Essays in Finitude, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2023,