To believe in something bigger than yourself is an empowering feat from the perspective that it creates the feeling of being at peace and not scared from being in control yet unable or unsure. But in reality, not to dismiss a God or six or whatever self-help serum is trendy, you are in charge of yourself. “I have no fear, I have no hope, I am free” is written on Kazantzakis’s, a great philosopher, headstone. To have hope is that you assume there is good out there of coming your way. Freeing one’s self from this makes one completely reliant on the moment and the self, hence real freedom is found. The same issues lays with doubt.
Doubt is bigger than a person only once a person allows it to be. For doubt is an idea, a version of reality’s theme that they entertain in their mind. Doubt and hope are intangible so they can’t actually hurt you until you let them. To create doubt is making up a story, putting effort, time and energy into a tale of loss, failure, treachery etc. The downward spiral has a terrifying acceleration and SEEMS impossible to get out of… yet it is always and only powered by your own thoughts, energy, and time. The highs and lows of life always seem inspired or to inspire one of these emotions which means they are interchangeable.
The themes of a life is an open ended concept. If on this day you would like to have the theme of everything as too epic and you just gotta shout about every damn thing, you can. If on this day you think everyone is in love with you, then you can wink and treat them all like folks in love with you. Themes are free and open. There are specific situations where in which doubt and hope bubble up, not on their own accord but by best fit. Sometimes being way too excited inspires folks to remember when they crashed before and so they have faith in doubt. Others see the world and tiny shards of their lives tales as surefire road signs to hope steamrolling their way. She smiled, she obviously is in love with me!! These are both self-fulfilling prophecies but they are also such large themes on the same spice that they are indeed interchangeable in their nature and space.
My point of explaining all of this is to point out that you can take those moments of doubt and worry, the complete conviction of doom and destruction, and swap your swami. The same faith that hell is gunna break lose has as much basis in logic as the idea and expectation that Jesus is gunna show up and cancel the rapture for a pizza party. Seriously, examine the most doubtful and most hopeful situations then measure their likelihoods before the rest of the story came to you. The tail end is a result of behavior which is a result of perceptions and expectations. You can swap em up.
