“…whatever a man loves, he desires its effect; and to this, by reason, he directs himself…The very delight of reason is, that from love it sees the effect in thought, not in the effect but before it, or not in the present but in the future. Hence, it is that man has what is called ‘hope’; which increases and diminishes in the reason he sees or expects the event.”—Emanuel Swedenborg
“I lived and wrote for years in that hope,” he shared, smiling and laughing internally at remembrance. “A small hope can realign the entirety of a man’s dreams; futures, fates, destinies, all from a hope pursued and lived as true.
When I lost that, creation suffered. It was all I could see, desired to manifest. It was the words, the stories, visions, and when it died—hope in a possibility surrendered—the visions departed.
Hope was their medium.
Signs were not as prominent, but every now and then, they still show.
I still believe in Providence. I still believe in Destinies, even if mine is returned to blindness at the moment.
But isn’t that the reason for faith—to keep believing when proof and signs no longer show? It takes no faith to believe in what is readily seen. It takes faith to continue believing in the aridity that follows after.
And so I do—still believing there was reason for the affection, for the fire and flame for life that came forth from a somber spirit.
I don’t know why it happened, but I am grateful still for all that lived and dreamed. I am still changed.”