Hope is Alive and Well

In 2026 we took another step in space exploration—the Artemis mission. It's thrilling to be in exploration mode again. It gives us hope—it takes one hell of a community working together to carry off something like this.

Hope is more than a feeling. It's constructed. Whether building a new initiative like Artemis or working through a tough conflict like we do here at The Community Mediation Project (TCMP), hope guides us. 

Hope has this element of stickiness—like chewing gum you just won't scrape off. According to Carl Snyder, a researcher psychologist, hope has three elements: a clear goal, multiple pathways to reach it, and agency, the belief that we can make it happen. Getting spaceships off the earth requires hope.  So does getting ourselves through super stuck conflict.

Where to?

Hope begins with knowing where you want to go. Artemis, for example, has been years in the making, based on a specific destination early on—get back to the moon. This clarity helps keep the team on the target.

In conflict resolution and community building, the target is turning conflict into something constructive. That’s a big ask.  It's the willingness to go step by step, listening, getting heard, and being willing to shift your perspective.  About as big as aiming for the moon.

How?

Once the goal is clear, the next step is to find ways to get there. Hope thrives when we imagine more than one path forward. Artemis didn’t rely on a single plan but developed alternatives—adjusting as challenges arose. This flexibility keeps hope alive because obstacles don’t mean failure, they mean trying a different route.

In conflict, we apply this by staying loose with each other as we work to reconnect through a dispute. When one approach doesn’t work, we make space for another that might.

Mediators and conflict coaches keep hope alive by

following people and supporting them as they discover the right path—and we stick with them like chewing gum and tape.  Something like NASA’s CAPCOM (capsule communicator)—we listen, but we’re too far from the seat to make the decisions—that’s the ship commander.  It's you. You can get through tough conflict with support to make your own decisions.

Who am I in this?

You're the one who believes you can make things happen. You're not beat down by setbacks. You say, “I can do this,” even after a heavy sigh, even when the path is unclear or difficult. So when someone is flipping you off or shutting you out, it means taking a deep breath, hanging on, looking forward, asking for help.

In conflict this also means seeing that two things can be true at once.  It’s recognizing that we  really can take care of ourselves and still have room to consider the other person. 

Like astronauts, we achieve challenging outcomes with support.  And when it gets complicated, constructive conflict benefits from a conflict CapCom—we call that a mediator.

What does it get you?

Hope can get you there. It's Artemis getting us back to the moon.  It’s you building back a relationship.  Your willingness to come into conflict with the hope of turning it constructive makes all the difference.

By DOING the hope thing, we can transform our conflict into possibility. Have a goal, stay loose, keep the can do mindset.  Let’s shoot for the moon.