At some time or another every person on the planet has experienced the feeling of despair. It's part of the human condition - it may very well be the singular commonality that marks our shared humanity.
The cause of the despair can be anything from a random occurrence to a deliberate action. It can be the result of something a person did or something a person failed to do.
For century upon century the wisest of sages, from street corner preachers to multi-degreed academics, have pondered despair and what can be done to alleviate either the cause or the reaction to it.
The books they have written about despair number in the hundreds of thousands, filling row upon row of bookshelves in bookstores and libraries around the globe.
Thousands upon thousands of political, religious, philosophical and even scientific ideologies have been posited as solutions to human despair, with varying levels of success.
I write "varying levels" because people still reach for illusory solutions such as drugs, alcohol or worse in attempts to relieve their despair.
The question "Can anything be done to help people who are drowning in despair?" appears to be unanswerable. I refuse to believe that.
I believe the answer is fairly simple, fairly obvious:
Find a way to make people understand that they matter, that they are appreciated, that they have value.
No comments:
Post a Comment