"Create possibility!" Kierkegaard's remedy against despair:

A blessing for all who are at the edge of despair.

Enjoying a moment of freedom at the mighty shore of Lake Superior. © A. Furchert

Create possibility, create possibility!…
Then the desperate can breathe again…
— Søren Kierkegaard .

Dear fellow pilgrim, and all who are new here to this space, welcome!

This midweekly blessing comes to you a bit late. Because I am still looking for words. And, I know, many of you are too.

I think regardless of the American election results we have entered an age of despair, where people feel more and more alienated from life and life giving possibilities. Where so many people live on the edge, either because of their economic or health status, or because they feel life throws things at them they barely can handle.

We look at the state of our world and lose courage.

For the spiritual writer Søren Kierkegaard, one despairs when one cannot see possibility any longer. This can be, because there is none or, which is more often the case, because we cannot see it.¹

Totalitarian systems, for instance, are built on the human capacity to despair. Arbitrary policies, raw displays of power, and flaunting of common courtesy are all designed to make us lose courage and hope. And frankly, in the face of the human condition today, the status quo of this world, it is easy to think there is nothing we can do.

But friends, the ironic good news is that we indeed do something in order to despair. We focus on the lack of possibility. We focus on our lack of freedom. We focus on doom. We narrow our view instead of widening it.

And though it is little comfort to the one who lives in a desperate environment, where there is objectively no possibility or freedom left to live a human life, for the rest of us, we can and we must confront despair head on.

Thus Kierkegaard’s therapeutic remedy sounds quite simple:

Create possibility, create possibility!…
Then the desperate can breath again… (SD, 38-39)

But all who have been on the verge to despair know this isn’t simple. To see possibility, to claim possibility, to create possibility, for us and others, is a lifelong task.

But it is also a life-giving task. It makes us free people. Always.

Because even if the world looks like doom to me, even if my disappointment or grief or fear or loss seems unbearable, as long as there is the possibility to live despite it all, as long as I can create this possibility, I need to live into it.

So, dear friends, do not get me wrong. This is not a recommendation to simply “Be merry” while the Titanic is sinking.

It is instead a reminder of the life giving power of hope. As long as there is hope we must not despair. Despair keeps us from action. Hope turns our focus from pain to action. It softens our gaze to see the sacred in all things.

As long as there is hope, there is possibility, and as long as there is possibility, there is hope.

Sometimes it is hard to see possibility. Sometimes we must start very small. Sometimes it is the next breath, a next step, another day, another beginning.

Casting a stone, just for fun, in the moment. © A. Furchert

When I find myself at the verge of despair I feel the urge to retreat into the bigness of our natural surroundings and into the little things needed to find our center again. Breathing, walking, resting, playing, laughing, retreating.

Watching my child throw pebbles into the mighty Lake Superior. Listening to the wind moving the tree tops. Watching the fog broadcast reflections of a new dawn.

Living the moment in hope is no easy task. But it is the task needed in order to go forward.

So here is my humble blessing for all who need it today:

Little things. A Blessing of sorts

If the world around you

gets so disturbing

that you fear

to drown in the noise

retreat to the little things,

things your heart can capture

and hold in hidden chambers.

Don’t ignore the big things

but find your home in the small ones

like a walk along the water

refreshing your senses

giving life to everything,

both large and small.

As you do, may you notice

that the little things move also the big ones

and with this insight,

hope

builds its beginning

in the small chambers

of your heart.

AF 2021 / 24

May it be so and may hope abound within you, Almut (with Chuck and little one)

PS: In our comments section, inspire us with a small thing can you do now. How might it connect to great things? Or, you can simply leave a heart, a word or a line which resonated with you, so we know you have been here :-)

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In case you missed it

Still, another dawn.

Between heaven and earth. A contemplation on the sparrow, Kierkegaard, and finding one self anew on an airplane ride.

About Almut

Almut Furchert, Dr. phil., Dipl. Psych. is a German American scholar and practitioner, a psychologist turned philosopher turned writer, traveler, photographer, retreat leader and mother of a pre-schooler. She has taught and published on authors like Kierkegaard, Buber, Frankl, Yalom, Edith Stein, and Hildegard of Bingen. Almut is also a Benedictine Oblate and lives with her family in a little college town in MN.

1. For all who want to go deeper you can read my paper on Kierkegaard and despair here.