"Hope means seeing and acknowledging hard things, paying attention to everything long — all of it, good and bad — without denying anything. Learning to live with all that we feel, all that we think, all that we see, everything that happens — accepting all of it without pushing away pain or refusing to acknowledge suffering or clinging to pleasure — invites hope. Sick children talk about suffering because they see the territory clearly, and they know that hope manifests in the midst of pain. Hope doesn't erase suffering; it acknowledges it, nods and bumps fists, without putting suffering in charge. Hopefulness implies an awareness that the status quo is inadequate, that something needs to change."