Jon &amp; Paul, thank you for the thoughts about what I think of as hope with substance. Some of my thoughts in response:

Hope has substance when there is clear vision and defined direction. It is more than a wish, an optimistic thought or faith, those these may be part of hope. Hope is seeing the future, a future we can attain if we keep moving forward, trying, learning and, as needed, adjusting and adapting. Hope is holding onto core values and purpose. Maintaining hope has to do with being able to evaluate, make course corrections, recover from discouragement and hold onto the vision of what can be.