HOPE IS A GOOD THING, MAYBE THE BEST OF THINGS AND NO GOOD THING EVER DIES

The above is from the movie "Shaw Shank Redemption" in a letter written by Andy to Red encouraging Red to not give up and to join Andy after Red is paroled. And Red does just that. So, is that statement true. Is hope the best of things and will it never die? How is that possible?

Is hope a basic aspect of being human? Will it live on in humans and never die? Fear makes it hard to feel hope. Fear is the enemy of hope and as Stephen King has been quoted as saying: "Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free." It does seem that fear can hold us prisoner as we are constantly controlled by our fears and are also at the mercy of our fears and at the mercy of people who fuel our fears in an effort to keep us afraid and immobilized so that we can be manipulated. This is a very sad way to live and will keep us prisoner until we can turn away from fear and embrace hope. 

If we are brave enough to see ourselves clearly and recognize that we do not need to be afraid and see others as working against us, then we can choose to begin to let go of our fears and begin to feel hope for ourselves and for the world around us. 

What do you think?