So
I ended my last post with hope and it reminded me of a book I’ve
just read.
(Note
– I realise I am a 40-year-old woman responsible for a child and
not an angst-ridden teenager, but I’m don’t care what you think
right, I’m a bit of a fan of young adult fiction. And I’m going
to slam the door and stomp off to my bedroom to read it. I didn’t
ask to be born.)
In
the publishing sensation that is The Hunger Games trilogy, young
heroine Katniss lives in a dystopian future and enters an unthinkable
fight-to-the-death live action programme framed as light
entertainment.
Without
giving too much away, she turns out to be quite a symbol of hope for
the persecuted masses who start to see her as the figurehead for a
long overdue rebellion.
But
behind the scenes, the film adaptation shows the head gamesmaker and
top politician, the twisted minds running The Hunger Games, having
the following telling exchange:
Seneca
Crane: “Hope?”
President
Snow: “Hope. It is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope
is effective. A lot of hope is dangerous.”
And
this, I think, is at the heart of my own fight for balance. Not the
physical MS balance, that’s a bit of a losing battle, but the
emotional MS balance.
Throughout
this whole MS journey* I have always strived to keep hold of hope.
I
think this is a positive thing and it has often served as a good pep
talk for my ailing body: remember, there’s always hope, remember,
there’s always hope.
But
I’m also conscious that eventually – in each relapse – there
will come a point when there is no room left for hope.
Relapses
are a perfect example of how a little hope is effective; keeps me
positive, keeps me believing, keeps me going - and a lot of hope is
dangerous; what happens when reality bites and I need to face the
fact I’ve lost that bit of me for good?
Good
question, back to The Hunger Games.
The
final sentence of that conversation is: “A spark is fine, as long
as it's contained.”
Perhaps
that’s an example too – keep a spark of hope, but contain it
within realistic boundaries. Keep hoping until you have to stop. And
then start hoping you will gain acceptance.
There’s
quite a lot to read into these kids’ stories you know.
Out
of interest, the tagline of The Hunger Games is: “May the odds be
ever in your favour.” Let’s have a little hope that’s the case.
*Yack,
by the way, to the word journey. I can no longer say it without
believing I’m on a celebrity reality show.
