I’m glad you sent this. It’s serious, clear, and deeply felt without ever tipping into melodrama or easy reassurance. I was especially struck by the argument that despair isn’t evidence that trying is useless, and by the emphasis on rest and shared responsibility as part of the work rather than a retreat from it. It stayed with me.
This is so rich with what it brings up in my memories of trying to change certain family dynamics; a friend who committed suicide after what I saw as her trying to be perfect in everything - an impossibility in any single thing; a therapist who taught me how to change my perspective on myself; wondering how you, Chris, keep going - do you ever sleep (?) or have personal support that feeds you to keep you healthy...
This will probably continue to roll around in my mind for a while. Thank you for the focusing lenses.
I LOVE the well educated. As a longtime yoga practitioner, degreed yoga therapist, and teacher I've read the Gita (as well as other translated works) so I especially appreciate the reference to Krishna's teaching to Arjuna on the eve of a tremendous battle Arjuna did not want to fight (he would be facing friends, relatives, mentors on that battlefield).
I also follow on Substack Robert Reich (who is making a new movie about an experiment his team conducted about rebuilding community when community has been largely destroyed), and Open Letters by Mersault who has been "infiltrating" MAGA spaces and then the "leftist" spaces to better understand them.
Both are demonstrating, as you did, how actual face to face conversations with people can help rebuild bridges even when there are disagreements.
Read Substack. Take Notes. Choose an “issue of the week.” Go out with a friend, knock on doors and talk with people about the issue. (Make sure you’re listening really well to the other person too.) Rest/Dance/Garden. Be happy anyways. Repeat. 🌿💫
Thanks Chris. I needed this reassurance that doing little things consistently has value, even though it might not yield an immediate result. What you wrote also made me realize I really am neglecting the self care part. I admit to being a lot out of balance because in this last decade it’s just seemed more critical to be forcefully engaged in pointing out the everyday constant dangers, than taking a walk or tending a garden. I’ll try to do better.
Giving up on your goal can make you feel like you've lost. You may be exhausted, discouraged, or wondering if your efforts have made any difference. Maybe what you need isn't to quit—maybe you just need to rest.
If you give up, you'll never know whose life you touched, who was inspired by your perseverance, or how close you were to achieving the outcome you wanted.
Goals are rarely reached in a day, a month, or even a year. They are achieved through consistent effort, determination, and the courage to keep moving forward, one step at a time.
Keep reaching out. Keep believing. Keep going. Your purpose is found not only in the destination, but in the journey—and every step you take has the power to make a difference.
It is a brilliantly crafted, highly intelligent essay in which the author perfectly combines hardcore neuroscience and existential philosophy to identify the exact cause of the activists’ despair. It brilliantly demonstrates through scientific facts how the necessity for hope is literally programmed in the biology of the human brain. Moreover, by showing that the state of agency is not some abstract notion but a physiological phenomenon learned only through trial, the author demonstrates how hope can never be futile. The use of the Florida canvassing study provides a wonderful defense against the illusion of futility, as it shows how we are biologically prevented from knowing about the ripples of our influence. In essence, heartbreak as evidence of our humanness is what makes this text a masterpiece of insightful comfort.
I’m glad you sent this. It’s serious, clear, and deeply felt without ever tipping into melodrama or easy reassurance. I was especially struck by the argument that despair isn’t evidence that trying is useless, and by the emphasis on rest and shared responsibility as part of the work rather than a retreat from it. It stayed with me.
Thank you, @David Hope, you expressed this perfectly. Cool last name (which I’m sure no one has EVER told you before) 😎
Thank you!
This is one of your best columns yet! Gives me a reason to keep plugging along. Thank you!
This is so rich with what it brings up in my memories of trying to change certain family dynamics; a friend who committed suicide after what I saw as her trying to be perfect in everything - an impossibility in any single thing; a therapist who taught me how to change my perspective on myself; wondering how you, Chris, keep going - do you ever sleep (?) or have personal support that feeds you to keep you healthy...
This will probably continue to roll around in my mind for a while. Thank you for the focusing lenses.
Great wisdom here.
Thank you. I really needed this right now.
Truly one of the best essays on this topic I have ever read (and I have read a lot!) It did move me to tears.
I LOVE the well educated. As a longtime yoga practitioner, degreed yoga therapist, and teacher I've read the Gita (as well as other translated works) so I especially appreciate the reference to Krishna's teaching to Arjuna on the eve of a tremendous battle Arjuna did not want to fight (he would be facing friends, relatives, mentors on that battlefield).
I also follow on Substack Robert Reich (who is making a new movie about an experiment his team conducted about rebuilding community when community has been largely destroyed), and Open Letters by Mersault who has been "infiltrating" MAGA spaces and then the "leftist" spaces to better understand them.
Both are demonstrating, as you did, how actual face to face conversations with people can help rebuild bridges even when there are disagreements.
Read Substack. Take Notes. Choose an “issue of the week.” Go out with a friend, knock on doors and talk with people about the issue. (Make sure you’re listening really well to the other person too.) Rest/Dance/Garden. Be happy anyways. Repeat. 🌿💫
and watch cat videos even if you have cats of your own. Baby Corn is a fave of mine...
YES!!! 😻😻😻
Or K9 Konvoy on Youtube which is just delightful!
Yes! If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill the Buddha. ie, you must find your own meaning, don't take a guru's word for it.
Really excellent work, thank you!
Thanks Chris. I needed this reassurance that doing little things consistently has value, even though it might not yield an immediate result. What you wrote also made me realize I really am neglecting the self care part. I admit to being a lot out of balance because in this last decade it’s just seemed more critical to be forcefully engaged in pointing out the everyday constant dangers, than taking a walk or tending a garden. I’ll try to do better.
Marathon thinking: We’re in this for the long-haul.
Superb. So full of wisdom I wrote several things down. I will be sure to pass this essay along to others who are also warding off despair.
"Warding off despair" is the human condition for all of us at some point in our lives.
This essay? Truly a gift of service.
Giving up on your goal can make you feel like you've lost. You may be exhausted, discouraged, or wondering if your efforts have made any difference. Maybe what you need isn't to quit—maybe you just need to rest.
If you give up, you'll never know whose life you touched, who was inspired by your perseverance, or how close you were to achieving the outcome you wanted.
Goals are rarely reached in a day, a month, or even a year. They are achieved through consistent effort, determination, and the courage to keep moving forward, one step at a time.
Keep reaching out. Keep believing. Keep going. Your purpose is found not only in the destination, but in the journey—and every step you take has the power to make a difference.
#NeverGiveUp #KeepGoing #Purpose #Perseverance #Hope
Christopher, thank you for this. More than helpful. Very enlightening as well as encouraging. I’m sure many of us here needed both.
Thank you!
One of your best and most instructive, thanks.
It is a brilliantly crafted, highly intelligent essay in which the author perfectly combines hardcore neuroscience and existential philosophy to identify the exact cause of the activists’ despair. It brilliantly demonstrates through scientific facts how the necessity for hope is literally programmed in the biology of the human brain. Moreover, by showing that the state of agency is not some abstract notion but a physiological phenomenon learned only through trial, the author demonstrates how hope can never be futile. The use of the Florida canvassing study provides a wonderful defense against the illusion of futility, as it shows how we are biologically prevented from knowing about the ripples of our influence. In essence, heartbreak as evidence of our humanness is what makes this text a masterpiece of insightful comfort.
And your summary is the blurb for Chris's new book!!
Thank you for explaining such important points about resistance fatigue:
--Passivity is the human default and agency is earned by acting.
--There’s no guarantee of victory required for refusal to be worth performing.
--The absurdity of the situation does not justify despair or nihilism.
--Refusal is available and worth doing.
--We may not see the positive results we fight for.