Are hope and optimism related? I believe they are. I think optimists find their way to feeling hopeful quicker than pessimists. There’s a springiness to their thinking that helps them more readily bounce back from disappointments, whether by virtue of natural disposition or nurtured encouragement. That blend of nature and nurture exists for pessimists, too – they just have to work harder at it.

If animals are capable of feeling negative emotions like fear and aggression and positive emotions like trust and love, isn’t it also possible that they can feel hope? Not in a “planning for the future” kind-of-way, but in a “positive outlook” kind-of-way. We’ve all seen the dog who brings his leash to his owner – isn’t he hoping to go for a walk?

The balance between disappointment and hope: An individual who lived two hundred years ago and was consistently challenged to renew his relationship with hope was poet and short story writer, Edgar Allan Poe. He suffered devastating disappointments during his lifetime, yet he remained inherently hopeful that aspects of his life would improve. How did he keep hope alive? And is the ability to feel hope an emotion relegated only to humans?