One of my favorite quotes comes from the romance writer, Jennifer Crusie. It’s from her novel, Agnes and the Hitman, and it goes, “Contentment with the past, happiness with the present, and hope for the future. Learned Optimism.”

I know it’s probably inspired by positive psychology, but it’s a great idea, even if it comes from a hitman. 

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first human woman, and she was created by Hephaestus on the command of Zeus. She was created as a punishment to humankind. Depending on the version of the myth you read, Pandora either opened her jar out of curiosity, or was tricked into opening her jar, and releasing various torments onto human kind. The last thing remaining in the jar was hope. 

Misogynistic mythology notwithstanding, as humans, we need hope, and usually that hope is based on something. Sometimes it’s based on what we’ve been able to achieve in the past. Other times, it’s based on what we see others accomplish. Occasionally, it’s based on desperation for us to get out of our current situation.

Whatever our reasons for holding on to hope, it helps us to keep going. It gives us something to look forward to. It provides a vision of a future to look forward to.

I hope these affirmations help us to continue walking toward that hope, and that future.