Hope Defined

I walked into an store the other day to look at furniture prices. Not because I could afford anything today, but I knew with my disability on the way, I could have my own home, my own life, my own dignity within the next 60 days. It was a exhilarating feeling like something I really haven't felt in a long time.
I mentioned this only because one of my friends stated that he had been staying homeless in his truck for so long, it doesn't bother him any longer. He had completely accepted the situation and his statement really made me cringe. The reason is simple.
Hope is the greatest aphrodisiac there is for life. On the other side of the coin, hopelessness destroys every aspect life. Health, mental state, nutrition, relationships. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Hopelessness cost the economy, community and self respect. Needless human despair questions the very foundations of religion, governments and humanity.
I traveled that road of hopelessness for a long time.
The human spirit is not capable to suffer without a cause and have any kind of hope for the future. It just isn't possible to do. Every person I have spoken to, I've asked, "Would you rather be sitting on your own couch watching T.V. in your own home right now or rather be homeless?" I can assure you not a single person out of thousands have ever told me that they would rather be homeless and suffering needlessly. I can tell you that a overwhelming majority though have no hope of that happening in their lifetime. In fact, never in life did I ever think I would see people so filled with hopelessness that I would watch individuals wait for their death with the same anticipation as a child waiting for Christmas morning.
To know "hope" defined, one really needs to know hopelessness defined and I wish I had never found out.