Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.

The line defines hope not as naïve optimism or denial of suffering, but as a disciplined perception: the capacity to recognize possibilities for goodness and change even when circumstances are bleak. “Light” functions as a moral and spiritual metaphor—truth, justice, compassion, or a future worth working toward—while “darkness” evokes oppression, grief, and fear. Attributed to Desmond Tutu, the sentiment aligns with his public theology of resilience during and after apartheid: acknowledging real pain while refusing to let it have the final word. The quote’s force lies in its practical ethic—hope becomes an act of seeing and, by implication, of continuing to act.