Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
“Anthem” is considered one of Leonard Cohen's most beautiful and hopeful songs, and was written during a tumultuous time in the world. Though Cohen was Jewish, he studied Zen Buddhism deeply, and even became a monk for several years. He was known for seeing the dark side of things, but "Anthem" preaches the acceptance of imperfection and finding the light was a central theme in many of his songs.
Cohen who didn't like explaining his music reportedly made a rare statement about what he claimed to be "one of the best songs I have written, maybe the best."
"The future is no excuse for an abdication of your own personal responsibilities towards yourself and your job and your love. “Ring the bells that still can ring”: they’re few and far between but you can find them if you look."
The Power of Hope
We recognize hope when we feel it, but it’s hard to describe when we need it. It's an emotion and a way of thinking and a catalyst for agency all wrapped up in one. It involves belief and expectations that alter our perceptions of ourselves and the world. We experience it in our brain but it comes from outside ourselves.
Hope has been called the antidote for despair. American psychologist C.R. Snyder's hope theory is the most widely used theoretical definition in psychology research. Snyder maintains that hope is a cognitive behavioral process whereby hopeful people are able to envision a positive outcome and reach that outcome through agency and control.
Hope is so powerful it doesn't just profoundly change the way we see the world, it also changes the structure and function of the brain. When we experience hope, the brain pumps neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and endorphins that block pain, build resilience, and enhance cognition. Hope doesn't just make us happier. Hope makes us smarter.
Hope isn't wishful thinking or blind optimism, but rather a conviction, even in the face of uncertainty, that positive change is possible and worth striving for.
5 Ways Hope Changes the Brain
1. Activation of Reward Pathways:
Hope triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with motivation, reward, and pleasure. Dopamine helps sustain effort and perseverance by making future goals feel attainable and rewarding. The brain's reward pathway, including areas like the nucleus accumbens, becomes active when a person feels hopeful. This activation reinforces positive expectations and motivates us to act.
2. Enhanced Prefrontal Cortex Function:
The prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning, decision-making, and goal-setting, becomes more active when people feel hopeful. This region enables individuals to envision future possibilities and devise pathways to achieve them. Hope strengthens executive functions, such as self-control and problem-solving, by enhancing the brain's capacity to focus on long-term goals instead of immediate setbacks.
3. Reduction of Stress Responses:
Hope dampens the activity of the amygdala, the brain's fear and stress center, helping regulate emotional responses to challenges. By activating the parasympathetic nervous system, hope promotes a sense of calm and reduces stress-induced cortisol levels, which can otherwise impair brain function over time.
4. Neuroplasticity and Learning:
Hope fosters neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form and reorganize connections in response to experiences. This adaptability allows individuals to develop new problem-solving skills and coping mechanisms. Repeated hopeful thinking can strengthen neural pathways associated with optimism and resilience, making these traits more automatic over time.
5. Building Resilience:
Focusing on hope can strengthen the neural pathways associated with resilience and positive emotions. This cognitive shift is supported by changes in the brain's connectivity between emotion-processing and decision-making regions.
