Hopes and Fears

Awesome album by Keane, but anyway

"Fear cannot be without hope nor hope without fear."
Baruch Spinoza

I understand that hope cannot exist without fear (that said hope may fail), but can fear exist without hope? A morbid, hopeless desperation without any chance of redemption, where all is naught but an end? I keep thinking and pushing by extension: a fear of something permanent with no alternatives of do-overs - a fear of death. But people face the truths of their mortality and direct hope to their offspring. With no offspring they direct hope to humanity. With no faith in humanity, one may place hope in nature/other species. With no faith in the universal laws, one may place hope in the afterlife. Therefore I convince myself that it is a very peculiar trait of the human trait to create hope where there should exist none.

In that case, should one place hope onto the end-point, then what should they fear? Effectively, if one places all hope and belief into the afterlife, nothing on Earth can instill fear in him except through the wavering of this faith. Is it a wise choice? No one can tell. Is it practical? For all intent and purposes, it can very well keep one sane through the greatest burdens. Perhaps that accounts for the inability to remain objective to such a strong topic as religion.

This brings to mind a quote from the movie 'dangerous methods' - "why should we replace one delusion with another?" Concerning the human propensity to cultivate our own realities, it begs the metaphysical question 'can we approach truth', or rather, is it useful to pursue an absolute truth in the first place. It is not the place for a blog such as this to ponder such a question, but it does let us think. The human notions of hopes and fears - revealing insights into how we perceive and approach the world around us.

Mercy

The world offers no mercies of its own. The only mercies to be sought, is that which we can offer to each other.