“Hope is not devotion to an abstract principle, but rather the commitment to a dimension of human existence that offers meaning across differences” (Tierney, 1994).

As my semester resumes, I’ve been reading about “hope” in the context of therapy — a client’s individual hope for themselves, how it interacts with a social worker’s own hopes for their client, and the integrative possibilities that might emerge in the therapeutic space thereafter.

Anyway, I kept returning to this line… not just through the perspective of social work. I’m reminded of how the hopefulness of union organizing is embedded in tactile and mundane expressions of hope. Reflecting on mutual aid and similar solidarity movements, I’m reminded how basic actions are inextricably tied to a commitment to a future that acknowledges and appreciates difference.

And, of course, I’m reminded abolitionist Mariame Kaba’s reflections on “rigorous hope.” We can hold the complex work of hope in our hands, touch it, make it our own…

Details:

• 10″ x 10″ with 0.5″ border
• Giclée-printed on archival paper that is acid-free, 100% cotton rag with a bright, matte finish