Compared to past centuries, today we live in complete material well-being and comfort. At the same time, oddly enough, the number of suicides and depression, the feeling of hopelessness and meaninglessness of existence, is growing. This phenomenon is called the paradox of progress: the greater the comfort and well-being, the more acutely the despair and anxiety are felt.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with the main ideas of “The Book of Hope,” in which writer and popular blogger Mark Manson talks about why a person needs hope and how not to fall under the influence of its false version.
Hope can be dangerous
Hope inspires not only noble heroes, but also genocides and totalitarian regimes. Hitler hoped to destroy all Jews so that conditions would finally arise for the “superior” Aryan race to flourish. The communists who came to power in Russia hoped to sooner or later make a world revolution so that the whole world would accept the ideas of Marxism and live in equality and fraternity. The atrocities committed by capitalist societies were fueled by the hope that everything was done for the sake of economic freedom and wealth.
Manson quotes Nietzsche, who believed that people must look beyond hope, beyond values, to see beyond good and evil.
A person of the future must love his fate, whatever it may be - he called this love amor fati (“love for his fate” translated from Latin).
You need to learn to act without hope, accepting yourself as you are, in order to ultimately become a better person. Hope calms and lulls us like a drug, and so we create stories, values, myths and legends about ourselves and the world around us so as not to live in fear of the inevitability of death. But she will come anyway, no one can escape her. Having realized and accepted this without fear, people will not run to do evil at all - perhaps they will learn to respect each other and our planet.
To get rid of despondency, you can read the prayer of St. John of Kronstadt
In times of great despondency and sadness, you can turn to John of Kronstadt in prayer.
John of Kronstadt. Photo: hram-aif.ru
Prayer for deliverance from despondency by St. John of Kronstadt:
The Lord is the destruction of my despondency and the revival of my boldness. Everything is Lord for me. Oh, truly this Lord, glory to You! Glory to Thee, the Father Life, the Son Life, the Holy Soul Life - the Simple Being - God, who always delivers us from spiritual death, caused by passions to our souls. Glory to Thee, Trinitarian Master, for from one invocation of Thy name you enlighten the dark face of our soul and body and bestow Your peace, which surpasses all earthly and sensual good and all understanding.
The world can only be improved by improving yourself and becoming mature.
The modern world, according to Manson, is full of childish egoism: we strive to get what pleases us and discard what we don’t like. If this fails, we react like capricious little children.
No one likes to be friends with an egoist, no one wants to work with him or engage in other types of social interaction, because he does not follow the rules and is indifferent to the feelings of others.
Manson talks about Kant's imperative. Kant believed that since man is the only one in the entire Universe endowed with consciousness, his main moral duty is to take care of this consciousness, develop it, and always put it first.
In relation to behavior, the philosopher calls for looking at others not as a means to an end, but as the end itself.
When a person lies to others, he misleads them in order to achieve his goal. When he cheats, he does the same thing—violating the expectations of other sentient beings in order to achieve his goal. Honesty is good in itself because it does not see people as a means, and so are humility and courage.
Kant called this moral imperative the formula of humanity, and this formula does not rely on hope, it does without it.
It does not propose a future utopia, does not exalt or humiliate anyone. No one is better or worse than others, and understanding this comes with true maturity.
The only logical way to improve the world, according to Kant, is to improve yourself. Treat yourself and others as an end, not a means, be honest, courageous and not arrogant. Be honest with yourself and you will be honest with others. This is how you can change the world - not through ideology, religion or dreams of the future, but through achieving maturity in the present, here and now.
Completion
Today we looked at how to deal with despair. I believe that every person can have a breakthrough. We ourselves can both heal and kill ourselves. If the first one is more suitable, buy yourself or brew a drink, for example, “Sbiten”, which consists of honey, healthy herbs and spices. And call it the balm of joy, happiness or health. And in the morning, pouring two spoons into hot tea, decide that you are drinking nothing more than a drink of joy, happiness or health. And behave all day according to what you are filled with. And don't forget about the sparkle. Happiness to you and all the best.
Pain is an integral part of our life
At first it seems to us that good work is not enough for complete happiness. Then this is no longer enough, and we long for a new home. When we are fed up with home, we want to go on a trip, on vacation to the warm seas. And on this trip, we may be so upset by the lack of some cocktail or other trifle that our level of happiness drops, despite the fact that the recent dream of a vacation has just come true.
Pain constantly accompanies human life. And if suddenly it is missing, perception and expectations are distorted in order to get the missing amount from some trifle. As soon as our life improves in accordance with our dreams, our expectations change, and again we feel slightly disappointed.
No matter how happy, prosperous and comfortable our life is, sooner or later we will still begin to experience dissatisfaction. No matter how terrible a misfortune people experience, they do not become more and more unhappy every day and soon feel the same as those to whom nothing bad happened.
Manson believes that regardless of our achievements and standard of living, we quickly adapt to our expectations in order to maintain a feeling of dissatisfaction. It helps to find a new hope, a new religion or a new conflict.
We see threats, insults or suffering where there is none. Therefore, the pursuit of complete happiness can never end. Moreover, this phenomenon is dangerous and destructive. Living well doesn't mean avoiding suffering, it means suffering for really good reasons. When we experience real pain, our mind begins to work in full force to eliminate the chaos and disorder that led to it. He evaluates what happened and predicts the consequences, learning occurs based on the painful experience received. When we avoid pain and stress, chaos and disorder, we become fragile and unstable, too sensitive to the slightest discomfort.
In order to restore your spirit you need to turn to Jesus Christ
To restore your spirit, save your soul from despondency and depression, you can turn to our Lord Jesus Christ by reading Psalm 101.
Icon of the Savior. Photo: pravzhizn.ru
Psalm 101:
Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to You. Do not turn Your face away from me: even if I mourn for a day, incline Your ear to me: even if I call on You for a day, hear me soon. As if my days had disappeared, like smoke, and my bones had dried up. I was wounded like grass, and my heart was gone, as if I had forgotten to bear my bread.
Because of the voice of my groaning my bone cleaves to my flesh. We became like the tawny owl of the desert, like a nighttime corvid on its dive. Bdekh and bykh like a special bird here. All day long I have been reproached by you, and those who praise me are cursed by me. Ashes are gone, like bread is eaten, and my drink is dissolved with tears. From the presence of Thy anger and Thy wrath: as Thou hast exalted and cast down me.
My days have turned away like the shade, and I have dried up like hay. But You, Lord, remain forever, and Your memory endures forever. You have risen, having shown mercy to Zion, for the time has come to show mercy to it, for the time has come. For Thy servants will take pleasure in his stone, and his dust will blight him. And the nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory.
For the Lord of Zion will build and appear in His glory. Consider the prayer of the humble, and do not despise their prayers. May this be written for generations, and the people of the land will praise the Lord. As from His holy heights, the Lord looked down from Heaven to earth, to hear the groaning of the chained, to allow the sons of the slain to proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem.
Sometimes the people and the king will gather together to work for the Lord. Answering him on the way of his strength, I will build up the humiliation of my days. Do not bring me to the end of my days: Thy years are in the generation of generations.
In the beginning, O Lord, You founded the earth, and the works of Your hand are the heavens. They will perish, but You remain, and all the garments will be discarded, and all the garments I have worn will be changed. You are the same, and Your years will not become scarce. The sons of Your servants will dwell, and their seed will be corrected forever.
By leaving a comment, you accept the user agreement
Option 4
Every person has to face difficulties in his life that seem overwhelming to him. There is no longer any strength left, and circumstances continue to bend the will further. However, not everyone falls into despair when they find themselves in such a difficult life situation. What helps them maintain their fortitude? What helps them remain themselves and continue to live? First of all, it is faith - faith in the best, faith in one’s strength, faith in a successful outcome.
Take, for example, the main character of the poem by A.T. Tvardovsky "Vasily Terkin". He regretted very much that he could not help his native land get rid of the fascist occupiers. But he had faith that someone else was liberating his city at that time. The hope of victory always gave him strength in battle; Tyorkin managed to survive even where, it would seem, the outcome was already predetermined. He swam across an icy river during enemy shelling, did not submit to fate and defeated death itself, remaining alive even after being wounded.
War is terrible, losses are terrible, but most terrible of all is despondency, despair and lack of faith. A soldier needs to be strong, strong not only in body, but also in soul. This is what the author wanted to say in his poem. He is sure that evil cannot be endless and unpunished. Vasily Terkin serves as an example for all defenders of the Motherland. Persistence and courage give him the strength to rise after every blow; fate will not be able to break him and deprive him of faith. It is such ordinary people with extraordinary qualities that can lead us to a bright future. It is only thanks to them that we are alive and live in a free state.
Another example of a person who managed to cope with his despair is the main character of the story by I.A. Bunin "Dark Alleys". In the society of that time, marriage between people belonging to different classes was impossible. But love does not ask permission, so it arose between the master Nikolai Alekseevich and the peasant woman Nadezhda in spite of everything. They both understood that this relationship had no future, but it was one thing to understand with the mind, but making the heart believe was more difficult.
Soon Nikolai Alekseevich left Nadezhda, leaving her alone. But the girl did not despair, drawing strength from sincere, pure love, which she kept in her soul and was able to carry throughout her life. She coped with all the difficulties and lived with dignity, but she could not forgive her beloved for his betrayal. The feelings that lived in Nadezhda’s heart all these years saved her and became a reminder of human meanness, which she should beware of.
Based on all of the above, we can come to the conclusion that love helps most in the fight against despair. It could be love for a person, for the Motherland, for a profession, for life itself, in the end. The main thing is that this feeling does not allow you to give up, it forces you to continue to fight further. Only love can help not to fall into despair, only it gives strength to overcome any obstacles.
Option 3
Every person has to face difficulties in his life that seem overwhelming to him. There is no longer any strength left, and circumstances continue to bend the will further. However, not everyone falls into despair when they find themselves in such a difficult life situation. What helps them maintain their fortitude? What helps them remain themselves and continue to live? First of all, it is faith - faith in the best, faith in one’s strength, faith in a successful outcome.
Take, for example, the main character of the poem by A.T. Tvardovsky "Vasily Terkin". He regretted very much that he could not help his native land get rid of the fascist occupiers. But he had faith that someone else was liberating his city at that time. The hope of victory always gave him strength in battle; Tyorkin managed to survive even where, it would seem, the outcome was already predetermined. He swam across an icy river during enemy shelling, did not submit to fate and defeated death itself, remaining alive even after being wounded.
War is terrible, losses are terrible, but most terrible of all is despondency, despair and lack of faith. A soldier needs to be strong, strong not only in body, but also in soul. This is what the author wanted to say in his poem. He is sure that evil cannot be endless and unpunished. Vasily Terkin serves as an example for all defenders of the Motherland. Persistence and courage give him the strength to rise after every blow; fate will not be able to break him and deprive him of faith. It is such ordinary people with extraordinary qualities that can lead us to a bright future. It is only thanks to them that we are alive and live in a free state.
Another example of a person who managed to cope with his despair is the main character of the story by I.A. Bunin "Dark Alleys". In the society of that time, marriage between people belonging to different classes was impossible. But love does not ask permission, so it arose between the master Nikolai Alekseevich and the peasant woman Nadezhda in spite of everything. They both understood that this relationship had no future, but it was one thing to understand with the mind, but making the heart believe was more difficult.
Soon Nikolai Alekseevich left Nadezhda, leaving her alone. But the girl did not despair, drawing strength from sincere, pure love, which she kept in her soul and was able to carry throughout her life. She coped with all the difficulties and lived with dignity, but she could not forgive her beloved for his betrayal. The feelings that lived in Nadezhda’s heart all these years saved her and became a reminder of human meanness, which she should beware of.
Based on all of the above, we can come to the conclusion that love helps most in the fight against despair. It could be love for a person, for the Motherland, for a profession, for life itself, in the end. The main thing is that this feeling does not allow you to give up, it forces you to continue to fight further. Only love can help not to fall into despair, only it gives strength to overcome any obstacles.
