In the face of global challenges, the tragic scenarios affecting the planet, the news that reaches us, it seems that everything conspires to take our breath away, darkening the horizon. Hope appears like a fragile good, almost a mirage. So it seems natural to ask ourselves this question: can we still "hope" in a scenario, in a better future for humanity or are we condemned to resignation?
In this circumstance, what the German philosopher Ernst Bloch (1885-1977) thinks could help us, that is, "hope is not a passive illusion, but a "dream forward", an active principle that anticipates what is not yet given. It is linked to the idea that the future is open and malleable, not predetermined"[1].
This is how each of us "can still hope", like a daydream. If we know how to look carefully, we could see the dawn of a new awakening that is already present. We see it in the educational passion of a teacher, in the honesty of an entrepreneur, in the rectitude of those who administer with integrity, in the loyalty of a couple, in the embrace of a child, in the care of a nurse, in the patience of a grandmother, in the courage of those who peacefully resist violence, in the welcome of a community.
Even more, the testimony of children in war zones, where they find protected environments in which to safeguard the future, speaks to us of hope. The drawings made by the girls and boys who participate in the "Save the Children" psychosocial support programs tell us this. Between pencils and colors emerge hopes of becoming doctors, writers or fashion designers... These safe places where they meet offer a context in which to play, express themselves and imagine a future beyond the conflict. The works were released on the occasion of World Mental Health Day, last October 10, 2025, and testify to the resilience of the little ones in the face of war[2].
And last but not least, we find hope in millions of people all over the world: children, young people, adults and the elderly who, affected by serious illnesses, face with strength, tenacity and resilience the challenge of overcoming this obstacle that "life" has put in front of them: how much courage and how much testimony of love for life these people offer us.
These signs, small and daily, remind us that hope is not an illusion, but a real strength, the fruit of love that radiates and is capable of transforming society step by step.
Everyone is thirsty for hope, both those who are close to us and those who are far away (physically, existentially or culturally). This idea invites us not to stand still, but to take a step to bring hope to those who need it and have lost all meaning in life. Let us approach with a gesture of attention, making ourselves close, bringing our love with delicacy and gratuitousness. There are many who await him, and we are called to reach them all.
As the Congolese poet Henri Boukoulou writes: «[…] O, divine hope! Here, in the desperate sob of the wind, the first sentences of the most beautiful love poem are traced. And tomorrow, it's hope!"[3].