On Hope

The weird, the original, and why it brings me joy

I’ve been thinking a lot about hope lately — what it means to have hope, what it means to have none, and how to find hope again if you find it extinguishing. Right now, it often feels like there’s not much to be hopeful for in the world. For some people, the only resistance is to shut out the noise. Or maybe finding joy in something simple like dancing to your favorite song while the world burns behind you.

Unfortunately, I’m not big on dancing and I can’t shut out the media since I have a job that requires I stay on top of it. And anyone who knows me will likely have difficulty imagining me throwing on a pop song or (god forbid) some house music and jumping up and down. So, if I dancing or avoiding the news isn’t it (and honestly, I’m envious of those who have those tools that I don’t have in my pocket), what is?

I think for me, where I’m finding hope lately is in small acts of resistance. And since I work in content and am a person who has always found my joy through witnessing and initiating works of creativity, those small acts of resistance are just anything that doesn’t conform. The stuff that feels original and weird in some way.

I think this is because it often feels like we live in a time when everything we digest feels templated or predictable. The algorithms curate content that confirms a user’s existing beliefs. Political acts have become performative TikTok trends. ChatGPT can mimic a voice or clean up your writing so it sounds just like a Modern Love column. We can even alter our face to look exactly like a Kardashian who already altered their face to look exactly like someone’s idea of a perfectly symmetrical human being.

So, when I experience a piece of art or even a fleeting moment that feels totally personal and weird and nonconformist, it is one of the few things that brings me joy. All those things that don’t fit neatly into any box. The imperfections that make us human. I just hope that we don’t all lose our ability to recognize these flashes of yes, brilliance, when we see them.

So, if you have any recommendations for books, movies, shows, music, whatever, that are just plain weird, please let me know. It is likely to delight me right now. (And thanks again for humoring me by allowing me this forum to spew random, half-baked thoughts.)

On that note, here’s my tarot card of the day.

The Queen of Swords

The Queen of Swords is a critical thinker and intellectual. Sometimes she comes across as stern or cold, but sometimes we need someone to tell us the honest truth and cut to the chase. She has sharp ideas and rules more with logic than intuition. In the context of this post, I think this card is telling us to rely on critical thinking skills more and take a deeper look into alternative viewpoints, rather than just accepting what is fed to you.