The illusion of hope

Yesterday I had lunch with Al, who I hadn't seen since the summer. As we were catching up on the last six months, he struck on an interesting point: the illusion of hope. This came up while discussing relationships, a.k.a. my new favorite topic. The basic sentiment: had [insert boyfriend/girlfriend's name here] been more upfront about his/her feelings then I might have realized earlier that the relationship was going to end bad* and saved myself some misery. Had I known all the facts then I would not have been hopeful. The other person, by omission, was creating the illusion of hope.

Al points out that the illusion of hope does not just deal with relationships. He says, "now close your eyes and think about all the times you were hurt the most. and consider how 'illusion of hope' fits into that time. then you will see how it applies..."


*Wording in honor of Richard Thompson... You Dream Too Much