Hope can be a faint glimmer on the distant horizon. It can keep us moving on the journey of community, belonging and love. Hope is a way of thinking - a cognitive process - or as C. R. Snyder called it a trilogy of: goals, pathways and agency.
Yes, hope is also based in emotions and can greatly inspire us to reach the highest heights, however its core is in ‘function.’ We experience hope when we can set realistic goals, when we can stay flexible and develop alternative pathways, and when we believe in ourselves or “agency.”