Finally, responsibility reshapes the very nature of hope. Once we commit to action, hope stops being a fragile, easily disappointed feeling and becomes a durable orientation toward the future. It is no longer based solely on optimism but on the knowledge that we are working, however imperfectly, toward what we desire. Philosophers from Aristotle to contemporary virtue ethicists have argued that character grows through repeated choices; Gibran refines this by suggesting that each responsible act slightly narrows the gap between today’s reality and tomorrow’s possibility. Thus, by taking hold of responsibility, we cultivate a kind of hope that can carry weight, endure setbacks, and still move forward. [...]
