Our Hope verses our dream...

[Autry Haynes]

What are your thoughts? How would reflect with some one on this? Had this question posted to me twice in the past two months..."Autry how would you explain our hope as different from our dream, are they not the same? My answer was of course no, they are the same. But engaging some youths over two different days had this question resurfaced. The first day we ended with concerns and hopes. All well and done.....The next day after a SALTy stimulation, we invited the youths to reflection on a future state when all your concerns would have been addressed and your hopes achieved, what would that state / condition be like? The youths were invited to do individual dreams.....there was discussion between the youths and co-facilitators, I sense something....on inquiring, i learnt that the youths were saying that the identified their dream the day before...must say they were firm on their position (^_^). So I said, the day before one of you said, your hope was to pass your examination, would that be your dream? There was a resounding oooohhhhh and everyone began doing their individual dream. The dream will be a subject for a future feature.....!!!!

Would you share some reflection on this?

[Rituu B. Nanda]

Hi Autry,

For me hope is our expectation but dream goes beyond our expectation. Discussions on hopes sets the stage for deeper discussions on the dreams. That is how I see it:-)

Warmly,

Rituu

[Gaston]

Interesting inquiry.

Yes, I think our Dream can consist of some of our hopes but goes beyond that. A dream also feels more 'active' and perhaps even more creative than hopes? I can get really creative dreaming for hours for my community. I can't really do that 'hoping' right? 

[Dr. E. Mohamed Rafique]

For me Dream is more free, and unhampered, with a free rein to the imagination. On the other hand, hope is based on reality, and uses much less imagination. Therefore, dreams can be the wildest, unimaginable ones, where as hope is always  earth-bound; limited by the boundaries, handicaps, hurdles, as well as by space and time, and governed and well-censored by heavy doses of reason. That is why we have the most grand sayings about dreams such as "Not in our wildest dreams!"

For in dreams everything is possible, and nothing is impossible! However, when we hope, our expectation is limited and governed by our past experience and our past outcomes of similar situations, Accordingly, when we hope it is just said in the usual moderate statement, "Let's hope for the best!"  

[Autry Haynes]

Very well said Dr. Mohamed......this is a worthy contribution to the subject,,,(^_^)

Autry

[Bheri M R]

yes hopes and dreams sounds the  same but dream is more than that of hope, hope will be achieved by a person and hope may be the  personal thing but dream is wider beyond the hope and it needs more supports to achieve it. I think hope comes from heart and dream emerges from mind.

[Autry Haynes]

Thanks much Bheri M.....warm thoughts (^_^)

Autry

[Autry Haynes]

Thank YOU for your valuable thoughts...just want share some additional thinking from Pierre and Emanuel

Pierre:

"I thought further on how we use words without much attention.. hope or dream.

Hope: "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best"

Dream: "a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep." but also (6th definition on dictionary.com): "an aspiration; goal; aim"

So if the dream is the aspiration, where does hope stand? On my way home, I was thinking hope is the best we can do for a movie playing out in front of us and despite of us ... but not enough to make our dreams happen."

and 

Emanuel:

"I thought also about that part where we were trying to figure out the connection hope and dream.  Coming from a christian background my subconscious went straight to a part of the bible where hope was use as a word in the definition of faith.

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"

 For that moment, this made me see  hope as a some kind of wishful thinking and Whereas  Dream as the bigger picture."

ARE THERE SIMILARITIES ACROSS THINKING? (^_^)

Autry

 

[Autry Haynes]

Just sharing Aleta Peterson's thoughts on fb. Surely enhances the discussion (^_^) Thanks Aleta:

"For me, hope is based on reality, it is limited to a particular situation and  outcome while dreams allow me to imagine and go beyond limitations.  Dreams inspire me to go get what I want but when I start to act on my dream, I can only hope that things turn out a specific way"

[Eric UWINTWAZA]

Good question and I am happy with responses given. For me, I think "hope" is a situation or something you believe will change for the better. It could be the political, economic,...global environment which could make easier your dreams to happen. Hope is then external opportunity wished so that you keep faith in what you want to undertake towards your dreams to be effective in the future.

For instance my dream is about my kids having a briallant studdies in Burundi. My hopes are that peace will be reovered soon and that Burundi the quality of teaching will be improved in Burundi.

 

So, for me, the two words are complementarily but are not the same.

Eric 

[Autry Haynes]

Thanks much Eric..........this is a grounded summary (^_^)

Autry

[Phil]

Here is a short thought. 

I am not sure what hopes are. But I am clearer about what 'hope' is. For me, hope is the idea that tomorrow can be better than today. I think that in order to dream we need hope. It is not enough, but I need it to begin. 

So perhaps hopes are the concrete things that can make tomorrow better than today. I hope that this will happen. I hope that I can do this. They are the things that can make the idea of hope into something concrete. 

A dream is a destination. It is a place in our mind. The actions that are represented by our hopes can lead us toward the dream, but the hopes are not the dream. 

Just musing. But nice question. 

Phil

[Autry Haynes]

Thanks Phil, a clear and worthy contribution (^~^)

Autry