Hope...

Everyone gets the story wrong. 

The story about Pandora and her box of woes.

Even when they get some of it right, they get the rest of it wrong. 

But most people only know the barest bit of information.

Pandora had a box with all the world's woes. She wasn't supposed to open it but did. Releasing everything bad. But there was one thing that was left in the box. And that was hope. 

So first let's deal with the misogyny that the whole myth is based on. 

That's the part people skip to get to the box and the hope part. 

Pandora was the first woman. 

Her entire reason for being created was to cause turmoil. That's part of the myth. The bros the gods had created first were just hanging out having a good time, drinking and relaxing, but not really doing anything. There was no reason to do anything. Everything was already good. 

The gods like their drama so came up with the idea of adding a woman to the mix. 

A woman.

One. 

Drop one woman into a group of guys and let nature take it course. 

Then men would fight to get her attention. Drama would ensue!

But what if it didn't? What if, because everything was so relaxed and chill adding Pandora to the mix would just be...well...cool. No drama needed. What if this group of humans decided that competition wasn't necessary. That there didn't need to be one big dude winning her. Maybe they would decide that people aren't prizes. Aren't things to be won. That they could all just get along and what ever happened was natural and no need for jealousy. 

Well, that wouldn't be good entertainment at all.

The gods like it messy. 

So they crammed a bunch of horrific things into a jar (later translations turned it into a box, but it was a jar) and sent her with it. Gave her a healthy dose of curiosity to her personality and then said, "Oh, by the way, don't open the jar. (wink, wink)"

Because you know they wanted that fucking jar opened. 

Same problem I have with the biblical mythology around Adam and Eve. Okay, so you created these beings that are intelligent and want to learn everything and you put a tree in their midst that will give them knowledge and tell them don't eat it. 

Why plant a tree with that fruit? I mean, you're the one who made the whole shebang right? So why put that tree there if you just wanted happy fun time Barbies to play with? Or if somehow that tree has to be in creation why not plant it someplace else? You know, not in the garden where you put your people?

And, yeah, the misogyny is baked in there as well. That wicked Eve being the one to eat the apple. 

Wicked Pandora opening the jar. 

Out fly all the bad things. 

Now the world (no matter which myth you follow) is filled with wickedness and it's all the woman's fault. So we have two explanations built into one. The reason why there is evil in the world and why women suck. 

So yay...

But with Pandora there is that last little bit. That bottom of the jar one thing left piece. 

Hope. 

Oh here is our moment of peace with the story. 

Yes, there is all of that wickedness in the world but there is also Hope. Don't lose Hope. We all have Hope. Hope will make it better.

But...

Why was hope in a jar full of bad things?

Why would they get all of the horrible things they could think of to make the world messy and dramatic and more entertaining for them to watch and then toss in hope?

Could it be because hope isn't actually a good thing?

Think about when you hope. 

You hope it's going to get better.
You hope things are going to change.
You hope nothing goes wrong.
You lose hope, you have hope, you are hopeful, you are hopeless. All centered around either getting out of a bad place or not wanting a good place to end. 

Hope isn't a good thing. 

Hope is what you have to convince yourself that everything that sucks will change. 
Or that everything great won't. 

Hope is what makes poor people play the lottery. 

Hope is what keeps people in terrible situations.

Hope is not an action. 

Hope is the thoughts and prayers of getting shit done.

 

So Pandora's jar didn't have hope in there by accident. Hope was in the bottom of the jar because it's the heaviest. The weightiest. The worst of the bad things. 

Because hope feels like it's a good thing. 

And that's even worse. 

I hope you feel better. (because right now you actually feel shitty)

I hope the weather is good tomorrow. (because odds are it's going to be shitty)

I hope I get a promotion. 
I hope I win the lottery.
I hope I hope I hope...

What a horrible thing to let out of the jar. 

The feeling that shitty things could get better without doing anything except hoping.
The dread that good things are not going to stay that way so you hope.

Hope isn't a positive.

Or maybe... 

Maybe it is.

Maybe Pandora put it in there herself when she saw she was being set up by those assholes on Olympus?

Maybe as she was getting her gifts from each of the gods, (Pandora is the one with all the gifts, it's her name) there was a pause after the wisdom portion. Maybe she overheard them cackling together about what a mess she was going to cause. Maybe she looked around the joint and saw that little packet of hope just sitting there. Shining brightly because the gods had no reason to not have hope. What were they missing? They were gods. Everything's coming up Mt. Olympus! So hope would be fat and sassy. EVERYTHING was full of hope and good cheer. 

So a quick snatch and grab and shove it in the jar of disasters. Pull the nasty bits over it to hide the glow and BOOM! Hope is at the bottom of the jar wondering what the hell just happened. The gods send her to earth. The dudes are like, cool...she seems nice. 

Pandora opens the jar, not because she's overly curious but because she knows that she's totally fucked up the plans of the gods who were setting her ass up to be the scape goat for...well...EVERYTHING.

She opens the jar, the evils of the world escape. The gods wring their little devil hands in joyous mischief and sit back to watch the world slowly burn itself up. AND THEN...

Pandora takes one look toward the heavens. Opens the jar again. The glow starts out low and then grows as hope climbs up to the opening and flies free. 

Pandora drops the jar and "HOPE OUT, MOTHERFUCKERS!"

Hope becomes part of Pandora's plan then.

The gods never intended for us to have hope. Hope was all theirs. Fat and sassy and shiny. Always good things for the gods. Hope was not something they ever intended to share. 

It was Pandora's fire moment. 

Because hope can keep us warm. Keep us moving. Get us motivated. 

Hope is the spark that leads to the deeds that moves us out of the thoughts and prayers moments and into the action. 

So which story do you like? Which version?

I think everyone gets the story wrong. 

The gods didn't give us hope. Not at all.