Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Either we have hope within or we don't; it is a dimension of the soul not essentially dependent on some particular observation of the world or estimate of the situation. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart; it transcends the world that is immediately experienced and is anchored somewhere beyond its horizons.
Friends,
the wise tell us that God abides in silence --
that God speaks in the silent serenity of the heart.
Let us not speak of silence; rather,
let silence speak to us of God.
Together, let us enter through the door of serenity,
the silence of our heart: a heart that is free,
peaceful, quiet and calm, a heart that is one ...
a heart so large and wide it embraces God
of all and the all of God,
the God who in silence speaks all languages,
the God who in silence speaks in all creatures,
the God who in silence speaks one word:
the God who speaks of Love.