Can "hope" be given or taken away?

[Elaine]

I was up most of the night thinking about the word, "Hope" and somehow "knowing" that David A was not going to make it. I only "knew" this because I think he "knew" it, too, based on his last post. I don't know how I feel about what I thought I "knew" but I did find this article, written by a Dr. that talks about "Hope" as if it were a prescription that Drs. need to prescribe, and it talks about overdosing on "Hope"-- It's long, so I will only post the link to it.

I think it is a very "hopeful" article. I know sometimes people write that their Doctors have taken away a patient's hope--I guess it depends on the definition one uses of "hope"--. I haven't come to my own definition of "hope," and I am trying to do it. I often wish for someone to hash these things out with. I have spent my whole life hashing ideas out with people, and find that the journey I am now on (actually have been on since my birth, not that I realized it) is a very lonely one.

If you find the first part of the article kind of hard to follow (like I did), go ahead and skip down some and read that first. Later I went back and deciphered the medical terminology.

http://www.cancerlynx.com/usehope.html

love and fortitude

elaine[/b]

[teresag]

We can all foster hope, or quash it, with our words and actions. When hope of cure or control is no longer realistic, we can foster hope for a pain-free day. A visit with loved ones. An opportunity to enjoy the sunrise. A sense of contentment with a life well lived.

The key lies in helping the individual discover their own hope. No one can impose hope on another. What you hope for may not be what I would hope for. And that is beautiful.

Great topic, Elaine. Thanks for bringing it up.