Despair and Hope

In times of despair, it is important to remember that our current situation is not our final destination. To get through the darkness, I have often had to use the mantra "This is a bruise, not a tattoo." If you find value in these videos, please show your support at https://www.buddhistbootcamp.com/support — Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love.

Episode Transcript

(00:07):
Welcome to the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast.
Our intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich, and inspire a simple and uncomplicated life.
Discover the benefits of mindful living with your host, Timber Hawkeye.

(00:27):
A year ago, I broke my foot in two places right before I was set to embark on a
backpacking adventure in the Grand Canyon.
I felt really sorry for myself, having to cancel the trip and unable to stand up for
a few months, let alone hike.
And then, as soon as my foot healed, unbearable arthritis in my spine flared up,

(00:48):
initially rendering my right arm unusable and then my left. Injections, physical therapy,
and time only temporarily relieved SOME of the pain, so words can't convey
how close I was to giving up on ever being physically active again.
It sounds dramatic now, but a bleak future felt inevitable at the time

(01:10):
because the bright rays of hope rarely reach the pits of despair.
Despair, I discovered, can be more paralyzing than injury or old age.
Picking myself up emotionally and mentally
was more challenging than climbing out of the Grand Canyon a year later.
I decided to tackle the same trail I was supposed to hike a year earlier in order to

(01:32):
determine if it's something I can still do.
I was still in pain, but I did it.
And then, inspired by that one completed hike, I climbed another mountain and then another,
proving to myself that discomfort and limited mobility are not nearly as debilitating as
hopelessness. So, this message is just as much about despair as it is about hope.

Succumbing to despair can affect us in many ways (01:54):
personally, collectively, medically,
politically, emotionally, and so on.
We can feel despair about a lot of things, and it is essential to remember
in all of those instances that our current situation is not our final destination.

(02:15):
This awareness won't eliminate our pain or dis-ease, but it will make it more bearable.

As Thich Nhat Hanh used to say (02:21):
When we learn HOW to suffer, we suffer much less.
So, with newfound determination to focus on what my body can still do instead of focusing
on what it can't, I recently climbed Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, which I've been
wanting to summit for 30 years.
I figured that if im going to be in pain, I might as well be on top of the world.

(02:44):
In all honesty, though, the biggest hurdle wasn't the elevation gain,
the last minute permit, or the cables at the top of the granite rock.
The greatest challenge was ignoring the

internal voice that kept saying (02:55):
You will never be able to do this.
Once you dismiss that voice, all you will see are possibilities.
When I talked to my friend about this, he asked how I silence that voice,
but I want to be as clear with you now as I was

with him (03:10):
we can't necessarily silence that voice, but we CAN ignore it.

That's the key (03:15):
be scared but do it anyway.
My challenge with "Hope" is when

Tyler Durden said (03:21):
Losing all hope is freedom, it took me a long time to understand
what he meant. "Hope" is typically a positive thing, so how is losing hope liberating?
Well, like many things in life, there are two sides to this coin.
Hope can be uplifting, but it can also be planned disappointment.

(03:41):
I can hope to wake up tomorrow, to be of service to others in some way, and to
minimize the harm that I cause in the world,
but if I start hoping that something or someone else will change or be different,
that's just a recipe for disaster.
That calls for acceptance and surrender, grace, respect, trust, and faith.
Any hope that has to do with someone else is shortsighted because we can't pretend to

(04:06):
know what is best for others when we barely know what is best for ourselves.
Maybe your friend NEEDS to hit rock bottom before changing their way,
maybe your parent or child NEEDS to make a mistake in order to learn the lesson.
And, instead of trying to stop them, all you can do is be there for them.
Hope is a slippery slope.
Saint Francis of Assisi told us that as instruments of peace,

(04:28):
where there is despair within us, we shall sow hope, and that makes sense to me because
it means we are to be our own best cheerleaders.
I'm not suggesting we all need to climb mountains, I'm just saying we can all
benefit from infusing our lives with hope regardless of what is going on in the world,
both within and around us.
So, I say strap yourself in! You can hear the voice of despair and ignore it.

(04:52):
I know I'm ready for the next adventure, whatever it may be.
The question is, are you?
Because as William Lewis said,
the tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, it's that we wait so long to start living.
Start now.
Timber Hawkeye is the bestselling author of Buddhist Boot Camp, Faithfully Religionless,

(05:13):
and The Opposite of Namaste.
For additional information, please visit BuddhistBootCamp.com,
where you can order autographed books to support the Prison Library Project,
watch Timber's inspiring TED Talk, and join our monthly mailing list.
We hope you have enjoyed this episode
and invite you to subscribe for more thought-provoking discussions.

(05:33):
Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love 🙏