Conclusion

“…a man without fear is a man without hope.”

The subtle-but-deep philosophy operating behind this quote implies that if you
fear nothing in your life, then there is no need for you to rely on hope.

This movie quote was met with fierce intellectual opposition from my
coworkers. Charles (one of the company owners) unexpectedly popped in and
promptly offered his mic-drop response, “If I buy a $1 lottery ticket. I hope that
I will win the lottery but I have no fear if I don’t.” …and then quickly exited the
room to avoid any rebuttal. This prompted a round of applause for Charles and a
pointed slurry of laughs and jeers directed toward me. After all …it’s always
good fun to watch someone deliver a surprise haymaker to Darryl during a
philosophical discussion.

…However, what Charles failed to realize was that he possessed exactly $1

worth of fear.
It is true that Charles’ only risk was a single dollar bill and he had plenty more
to spare. However, had Charles mortgaged his house, sold his business and
liquidated all remaining assets to purchase lottery tickets, he would be
experiencing an overwhelming amount of fear as the lottery drawing date
quickly approached. Those cute, little round ping-pong balls all dancing away
inside their plexiglass playground would have morphed into an ominously dark
and foreboding Edgar Allen Poe-like torture chamber for Charles in the
harrowing moments right before they popped into their respective tubes.
Likewise, to a hungry and homeless Charles living on the streets, that single
dollar bill would have represented a substantial financial loss should it be
wasted on a lottery ticket which bore no fruit.

Hope, Fear and Risk are all interconnected.

Hope is a psychological desire for a favorable result based on a situation where
the outcome is unknown and the stakes are high.

The amount of fear one has is relative to whatever happens to be at risk at the
time. In addition, the level of hope one has is relative to the amount of fear that
exists for whatever happens to be at risk.
Hope is not a process or technique that can be studied, honed and perfected.
You cannot be taught hope nor can hope declared true or false. Hope represents
the uncharted wilderness one is forced to cross whenever something of great
value is at stake or one is suffering through a painful loss.

We hope that our sadness will soon be replaced with joy.

You can’t control, manipulate or enhance hope because it is secretly buried
somewhere within the period of time which proceeds whatever reality is
ultimately to come.

 Hope is considered a good thing when we are hoping for a successful

achievement, but it is equally cruel with the risk of humiliation should
we fail to achieve the level of success we have hoped for.
 Hope is considered a bad thing when someone hopes that an individual
will suffer and die because of the level of brutality they have enacted
upon them. At the same time, there is a strange favorable sense of
vindication should our hopes become a reality.