The forecast for name-your-environmental-crisis-here often looks bleak. People who follow environmental issues know it, and sustained justice work can be a challenge. When I meet with religious groups about things like pervasive toxic chemicals, environmental justice, or global warming, someone invariably asks, “Where do we find hope?”
Here’s the truth, friends: I am done with hope. Hope hinges on outcome; it pursues a goal. Hope is illusory, transient, and insubstantial. In honestly facing life’s challenges—including the reality of human suffering, intolerance, and environmental degradation—I am likely to be disappointed if I put too much stock in hope.
To continue working for justice in a wounded world that cries out for healing, I need something more than hope. I need meaning.