What if we understood presumption to be the opposite of hope?
The presumption that only “we” have anything of worth to say. That if it is not our truth, then it is a lie. That truly listening to those people is not worth my time. That fatalism is the only honest way to face the facts.
Presumption is one way to buffer ourselves from the weight of reality which, considered with clear perception, is quite heavy.
Hope, though, entails a creative impulse that holds our engagement of reality ajar to love, to courage, and to daily commitment to take charge of the weight of reality.
I do not think this “hope-holding-us-ajar” movement is something we do on our own, but it is possible to pray for.
Paul's Blog 