Cultivating Hope

[jpp...@gmail.com]

S.A. Choose Life Project Paper #1



CULTIVATING HOPE

by John P.



Reflections on Hope and Despair




Hope liberates. It frees us from the dark dismal periods that would
dominate us in the face of discouragement. When a group of students in
Germany were asked what they thought the most beautiful word in human
speech was, they chose "hope."(1) It is no wonder. For those
experiencing hardship and adversity, hope is often the bridge leading
to the strength needed while resolving problems. Hope gives a sense of
steadiness as we walk our pathways of life.




In defining Hope, we might call it the ability to see a happy future,
or to have a sense that things will get better. The formal definitions
do vary some. Webster speaks of Hope as "a desire accompanied by
anticipation or expectation."(2)

One social science definition conceptualizes Hope as the ability to
visualize goals.(3)

A simple view of the word might be the "fundamental belief that things
in the end are going to be O.K."(4)

Associated with this might be the wish or trust that things are
basically O.K. now.(5)

The literary champions of our civilization have considered the word
Hope. For instance, Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) said that "Hope is
the pillar that holds up the world. It is the dream of the waking
man." Cicero said that "While there is life there is hope." If you
wish to see how other quotations of great men and women have described
Hope, see Attachment #1 at the end of this paper.




There is a flip-side to the mood of Hope. Here, Despair devastates
well-being and crushes our view of a good and happy life. In its worst
form, Despair tells us repeatedly that there is no place for us in
this world. Despair(6)

is the absence of hope. Everything that hope is, despair is the
opposite.




Despair is the source-point of discussion in the Choose Life Project.
That there are S.A. members who experience despair is the reason for
this work. Because prolonged Despair leads to the disintegration of
life, we seek its eventual defeat, and displacement by Hope and life-
affirming feelings.




Hopeful and despairing thoughts are distinctive and different. Compare
one of Hope: "When I look at the road ahead of me, I see mostly
happiness." with one of Despair: "I cannot adjust to the descent of my
life--my future is misery." For a better idea what hopeful and
despairing thoughts sound like see Attachment #2 at the end of this
paper.




Hope and Despair have an important role in the area of self-
destructive behavior. One researcher found that 75 percent of his
suicidal population had a sense of hopelessness about their illness.
(7)

The American Association of Suicidology states that "Feelings of
hopelessness (e.g., `there are no solutions to my problem') are found
to be more predictive of suicide risk than diagnoses of depression per
se."(8)

One psychiatrist, the Medical Director of a Community Mental Health
agency, maintains that when dealing with a suicidal person, it is
essential to make consistent expressions of hope to the person, until
he or she is willing to seek emergency professional treatment (and
such treatment almost always works).




So, the infusion of Hope is essential when we are dealing with
despairing thoughts, or particularly, when confronting death-wish
thinking. Despair will dismember our emotions if allowed to follow its
course. Hope is part of the remedy as we move toward life-affirming
beliefs and feelings.




In this paper we aim to learn methods for cultivating Hope. In fact,
we wish eventually to build "ramparts of hope" that will protect us
when despairing thoughts encroach on us again and again. Throughout
this series of papers, we strive to become able to combat Despair, and
ultimately defeat it. What would emerge then is our essential Self,
whole--not fettered by despondency and able to affirm life.







Buying Time in Moments of Despair




Perhaps early in this paper on hope it would be wise to outline a set
of techniques that would be helpful in those moments when despair
seems to be winning the day. Of course, when confronted with despair
in its worst extremes, it is necessary to contact one's psychiatrist
or other emergency psychiatric professionals. But, below are fifteen
techniques that could easily give one a buffer against despair and
enable one to gain more time for hope to set in.






1. "Probabilities in Your Favor" Technique. The chances are very, very
good that you will find an answer to your problem. The probabilities
are in your favor. This is true even statistically. All other things
being equal, the chances of any one particular person giving up and
dying a self-inflicted death this year are over 10,000 to one--
extremely low.(9)

Eventually we resolve our problems. Give yourself the time to find
your solution.




2. "Due Process" Techniques. In the area of law, there is a time-
tested method for arriving at the truth; it is called due-process.
There is a due-process for feeling better also. There is a method for
becoming well--through the full range of professional treatments, self-
help support, and other adjunct practices. Follow the tried and true
methods--and you'll find yourself feeling better by way of the due-
process.




3. "Postponing Drastic Measures" Technique. Realize that when you are
depressed or when you are in a panic, that your judgment and ways of
seeing things are clouded. Don't act on matters that affect you deeply
when you are upset. Decide to postpone drastic measures for at least a
month; usually the problems solve themselves by then. If the problem
seems like a real tough one, seek out counsel from a wise professional
person before you act on things. People live a long time--it's because
they find answers to tough problems. So will you.




4. "Evening News" Technique. Sometimes we become particularly forlorn
with our problems because we feel so alone; we feel that we are the
only ones experiencing difficulties. Sometimes it helps to put our own
pain into perspective. If we pick up the daily paper or watch the
evening news we will see concrete instances of tragedy beyond the
scope of ours. If we are living in the community, we can be aware that
there are thousands and thousands of our fellow sufferers of mental
illness who are this very night locked in psychiatric hospitals. We
are not alone in our suffering. In some ways, we can be grateful that
we are more fortunate than others. Perhaps, by bearing our pain more
bravely we can give tribute to those people who are in greater
difficulty.




5. "Quotations about Hope" Technique. Man has battled Despair down
through the ages. That mankind and civilization still exists is some
evidence that Hope has maintained the upper hand. Attachment 1 (toward
the end of this paper) contains fifty quotations about hope made by
great men and women throughout the centuries. See if these words on
hope raise your spirits. For instance, the Roman poet Tibullus said in
around 25 B.C. that "Hope ever urges on, and tells us that tomorrow
will be better."




6. "Hope-inspiring Quotations" Technique. On a similar note, is the
material in Attachment 3. These quotations aren't specifically about
hope but are about various topics that would serve to inspire hope.
For example here are quotes from two other ancient Roman poets. In
about 20 B.C., Ovid said: "Have patience and endure; this unhappiness
will one day be beneficial." In about 50 B.C., Virgil said: "Persevere
and preserve yourself for better circumstances." Men and women have
battled despair from our earliest beginnings, and we can learn some
lessons about building hope from those who came before us.




7. "Tempest before the Calm" Technique. Circumstances don't stay awful
forever--things eventually let up. This technique is one of those that
is really a way of looking at things. We simply realize that distress
doesn't last forever, and that relief is on the road ahead of us. We
might say that there is a "Squall before the haven" or a "Maelstrom
before the tranquility." While we recognize that suffering is not
permanent, we might also acknowledge that we might grow in our
resiliency and our ability to adjust to things.




8. "Distant Mountaintop" Technique. Here we imagine that at some
future, distant "mountaintop" we will be proud of ourselves for
sticking it out in this life, despite its uncommon trials for us.
We'll feel good about ourselves because, although we did not get life
in its full pretty package, we did our very best with what we had--and
nobody can ever take that away from us.




9. "Personal Depth" Technique. Wisdom is often the product of learning
from our experiences with problems. We can easily imagine how shallow
a person would be if he or she never experienced difficulty; their
observations about life would lack a certain depth. If we take a
learning attitude about our experiences in pain, we will grow in
wisdom and attain a sort of personal depth that only experience can
teach.




10. Battery of Relaxation Techniques. For several decades now, science
has been examining methods that help us relax, even during
difficulties. The fifth paper of the Choose Life Project is all about
these sorts of relaxation techniques and forms of meditation to attain
inner peace. Herbert Benson, M.D., of Harvard University, has offered
one simple relaxation technique summarized in four steps:

1. "Sit comfortably, with your eyes closed. Relax your muscles.

2. Breathe deeply--into your abdominal (stomach) area, not just into
your chest. Place your hand on your abdomen, just below your rib cage.
As you breathe in, you should feel your hand rise.

3. Silently repeat the word `one' as you slowly exhale. Some people
prefer to say a neutral phrase or words like `peace' or `serenity.'

4. If any other thoughts come into your mind, don't worry. Just return
to your deep breathing."

By performing this exercise for 10 to 20 minutes once or twice a day,
you'll immediately begin to feel calmer and better equipped to deal
with the hassles of every day life."




In the fifth paper of the Choose Life Project, there will be a
discussion of many more methods and techniques for gaining relaxation
and inner peace.




11. Battery of Fortitude Affirmations. During trying times we need
inner strength to help hold us together despite the pressure of our
problems. As will be addressed later in the paper, some people find it
helpful to have a hopeful personal motto that serves to anchor the
person during adversity. Another method is for the person in
difficulty to have a set of sentences that he can say to himself that
give encouragement. For instance, if a person's plans fail, he might
say to himself: "As old dreams die, new dreams emerge." During a
particularly painful period, a person's affirmation might be: "In the
long-run I will be okay." A longer set of sample affirmations will be
given later in this paper and in Paper Four.




12. Battery of Fortitude Prayers. The previous techniques have all
been secular in nature. However, for some people there are some forms
of pain that are more effectively helped by a spiritual approach. The
next four techniques are of this nature. In later papers of the Choose
Life Project there will be a battery of prayers intended to give a
person a sense of comfort, consolation, or encouragement. The simplest
method for now is for a troubled person to say the familiar "Serenity
Prayer" over and over again in his or her mind. It goes like this:






God, Grant me the Serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

The courage to change the things I can;

And the wisdom to known the difference.




13. "Happiness Ain't the Biggest Deal" Technique. Sometimes we are so
unhappy and can't imagine how we will ever be happy again. We are so
forlorn at the state of being unhappy, especially when we look around
us and see people who feel well. This forlorn experience might be
reduced if we consider this idea: Happiness on earth isn't the biggest
deal of all. This idea is key to many of the world's religions that
focus on the afterlife as the prize to be treasured. During our period
of unhappiness, we might get some consolation from sticking it out and
grasping on to this idea. But, don't be surprised if at some point in
the future you do find yourself smiling again. [See Endnote(10)

]




14. "Raising your Eyes" Technique. There are always obstacles standing
in the way of the things we think we need in order to be happy or to
survive. These obstacles may dominate our lives and cause us much
misery if we let them. This technique suggests that you "Raise your
eyes above the obstacle." No obstacle need intervene in one's
relationship with his or her Higher Power. Some religious systems
acknowledge the existence of an afterlife, and one might raise his
eyes to imagine himself being happy there, beyond all the frets and
threats of this world. Thankfully, happiness or some form of
consolation in this world usually does return to the person who is in
pain.




15. "Pinned Down--Fundamental Option" Technique. Sometimes it seems
that we are absolutely cornered or "pinned down" by our problems or by
our psychiatric condition. It seems as though there is no way out. We
can often gain a sense of consolation by asserting our allegiance to
our Higher Power in these instances. We can know that our faith
survives the blast furnaces of life this way. The author has felt
pinned down by life dozens of times, and it seems comforting to me in
my happier moments that my allegiance to God holds firm. And, of
course, we usually do survive our sense of being cornered; and by some
combination of acceptance, adjustment, and inner healing, the world
becomes once again a place where we can experience love and beauty.






Affirmations of Hope




As mentioned earlier, affirmations are sentences that we say silently
to ourselves to help us stay stable in tough situations in our travels
through life. They can come in the form of Fortitude Affirmations to
be used when utter despair is combined with a sense of urgency. Or on
an average day, Simple Affirmations can be used to provide us with
emotional protection against the everyday things that might upset our
well-being.


Paper Four of the Choose Life Project is all about these kinds of
affirmations or self-talk, a sort of personal language for feeling
better. In this later paper we will help develop individualized
systems of affirmations, or positive counter-statements to be used in
negative situations. By this method it is intended to help members
build "ramparts of hope" that will protect us from discouragement,
insecure thoughts, or despondency.




--Three Basic Affirmations. Although most of our discussion on
affirmations will come in the later paper mentioned above, below are
three Basic Affirmations that may help numerous members feel more
secure during hardship and adversity.

1. There is an answer out there for me, and I will eventually find it.

2. There is hope for me in the future, as scientific advances in the
treatment of mental illness will help people like me do better and
feel better.

3. There is meaning in all my life experiences, and something good
will come out of my current pain.




Later in this paper we will add to the set of Fortitude Affirmations.
Saying these and other affirmations to yourself may help you feel more
secure.






Finding Balance in Talk Therapy or Other Methods




When dealing with problems involving despair it is wise to be in
regular contact with one's mental health professional to talk about
any factors that are arousing the despondency. Talk therapy methods
such as Cognitive Therapy or Interpersonal Therapy might be a big
help. The professional is also an excellent person to do "reality
checks" with. And, naturally, a psychiatrist may wish to try new
prescriptions of psychiatric medications for biological treatments of
our problems.


There is another method we often overlook. Are we following the ideas
in the S.A. program as well as we could? Perhaps it would be wise to
read the Blue Booklet again to see if there is any wisdom there we
have yet to apply. This could begin as simply as trying to follow our
Six Steps as best as we could.




Another factor to be considered is a substance abuse problem--if we
drink alcohol excessively or use street drugs. If so, perhaps it's
time to join Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. These are
tried and true methods and could be of great help to some of us--
especially given the estimate that 50 percent of those with serious
mental illness also have substance abuse problems.




While considering these ideas, please don't count out the rest of the
Choose Life Project as a means of help. At least seven more papers of
the Choose Life Project are to be released in the future, and we're
betting that their content will help us in being more hopeful and to
gain more of a sense of inner peace, joy, and fortitude.







The Dynamics of Hope




As people live their lives and as the years pass, most develop a sense
of security about them such that they don't despair about all the
possible bad things that could happen. At the same time, they gain a
sense of confidence that they'll be able to manage themselves through
the difficulties of the future. This sort of confidence comes by way
of experience. We become resilient as we resolve the challenges that
are placed before us.




Hope flourishes when we can acknowledge in ourselves the ability to
adjust to our circumstances. The old saying "Roll with the punches" is
really a hopeful slogan, because it gives us a sense that we can
survive the things that challenge our borders. By this way of looking
at things, our hopes increase as we gain trust that we can endure
difficulties, and that persevering through problems will ultimately
serve to give us more character.




The eight-stage process given below attempts to show how hope can be
garnered from perseverance throughout our problems. We expect that
this pattern of activity would work for most people in most
situations.




1. Recognizing the Inevitability of Problems and Challenges

2. Trials and Crucible Experiences

3. Hope Emanating from Inner Healing

4. Testing the Waters and Weathering the Storm

5. Realizing the Growth of Confidence

6. Reaching for Resiliency and the Ability to Adjust

7. Celebrating Inner Growth and Expanding Personal Depth

8. Feeling Hopeful about the Ability to Deal with Problems




These eight stages in the dynamics of hope are described below, as is
a discussion of what to do in those instances where this process
doesn't work so smoothly.






Stage 1. Recognizing the Inevitability of Problems and Challenges.
Everyone has problems. No one is immune from difficulties. Even people
who lead what seem to be "picture-book" lives have their

pains. Consider this example. The world was charmed back in 1981 as
the Royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Di was broadcast to the
four corners of the globe. The carriage of gems and gold, the crown
jewels, the lavish ceremony of enormous proportions, and all the other
opulent characteristics of the wedding were almost like something out
of a fairy tale--something that all of us who saw the coverage will
remember. But, despite all of this grandeur, over the next 15 years
the world watched the personal relationship of Charles and Diana
deteriorate, and finally they both stated in public that they were
really quite unhappy with each other. Divorce and tragedy followed.
Those on mourning are now rebuilding their lives. And here is a point
to be made. If we can view our problems as challenges to be met head-
on, we seem to have more of a sense of empowerment in our attitude,
and we don't give in so easily to a sense of defeat.




Stage 2. Trials and Crucible Experiences. Certainly, as stated above,
we all have hardships and adversities. Life events do put us to the
test. That is, difficulties seem to test the borders of our self-
concept, our sense of character, and our resolves about living. Our
problems can come in varying levels of intensity. For this reason,
we've made a distinction here between the notion of a "trial point"
and a "crucible experience." A trial point is a relatively minor
problem, but one that could nevertheless be disruptive if not dealt
with. An example of this might be a new, more demanding boss on the
job. Here we can easily become upset as new and more difficult
expectations are placed on us. Most people are able to adjust to these
trying circumstances and are able to hold up.




A crucible(11)

experience, on the other hand, is a form of hardship or adversity that
seems to attack one's life boundaries in a more comprehensive manner.
For example, the news recently reported how an entire Midwestern town
was wiped out by the spring flood of an adjoining river. A person
living in that city likely will have lost his home, job, and
belongings. This is the sort of experience that would be a severe test
to one's life; it would be like being put in a crucible. Most of the
people reading this paper have had a crucible experience--called
schizophrenia. We have had tormenting symptoms while losing jobs,
housing, means of transportation, marriages or loved ones, friends,
and sometimes losing food resources, medical care, and other
components of a stable life. We have been in the crucible, and some of
us still are. However, as we shall see later, great victories can come
to those who have had the most severe difficulties. The crucible
experience can ultimately give us the opportunity to triumph.




Stage 3. Hope Emanating from Inner Healing. Our initial glimmer of
hope comes early on in this process. It comes when we have a deeply
felt and abiding sense that in the end things will be O.K., that
things will be better. This glimmer of hope spreads if we develop an
inner strength or a quiet courage that will hold no matter what
happens. In terms of a purely secular method of inner healing, we can
feel comfort in knowing that people usually do adjust to the difficult
things in life. This has even been proven by social scientists in
their research on the adaptive capacities of men and women.(12)

The spiritual methods for Inner Healing will be presented later in a
corollary paper to the Choose Life Project. And we will later discuss
the kind of fortitude that will help us work for solutions to our
problems and will give us consolation regardless of the outcomes.




Stage 4. Testing the Waters and Weathering the Storm. The big word
here is TRY. We make an effort at getting a handle on the problem. We
endeavor to blot out and ignore the harassing doubts about whether we
will be successful in our search for a solution. We just TRY. By even
making an effort we are defeating apathy at that moment. And something
else is happening too. By trying and trying we are slowly learning the
inner workings of our problem. As we keep making an effort at
resolution we are beginning to know more about what our problem looks
like, how it functions, and we probably will be able to name it. All
of this because we decided to TRY.(13)

Through this we often are able to survive the worst onslaughts of our
problem and are thus able to "weather the storm."




Stage 5. Realizing the Growth of Confidence. As we keep trying, we
soon gain mastery over many of the aspects of the problem. New skills
may be learned. We discover that we know some things that we didn't
know before the problem reached our door. We may become proficient at
dealing with the problem, and we may even have knowledge to impart to
someone else who faces the problem in his or her own life.




Stage 6. Reaching for Resiliency and the Ability to Adjust. Having
survived this problem, we have added on to the range of our
experiences and have proven once again that we are adept at "making
it." We may have absorbed some damage along the way, but we did make
it! We can feel a sense of security about our ability to adjust to
things and how that adaptability improves our chances of making it
again and again in the future.





Stage 7. Celebrating Inner Growth and Expanding Personal Depth. Since
we outlasted the problem, there is something of more substance to us.
We have gained the kind of wisdom that only experience can teach. And
we have gained insight. We have developed more strength of character.
Our inner qualities have been reinforced and we have more depth of
being.




Stage 8. Feeling Hopeful about the Ability to Deal with Problems. We
began this eight-stage process by the sour admission that problems are
inevitable. But we can now admit that we've survived thousands and
thousands of problems already--and we're still here. We can admit that
we've learned many coping skills to be used in our favor and that
we've handled scores of difficulties sufficiently well to survive. We
become more hopeful and secure as we continually come to the
conclusion: "In the long-run things will be okay, and likely even
better."






Learning to Hope




How do we make hopefulness a habit? How do we internalize it? Mental
health professionals in the area of cognitive therapy have been
working on these questions for years, and have identified ten or so
"cognitive distortions" that disrupt hopefulness. One example of a
cognitive distortion is "All or Nothing Thinking"--that if something
is less than perfect, it is bad overall. A good description of
cognitive therapy can be found in David Burns's book Feeling Good.
(14)





Part of making something a habit, whether it is daily dish-washing or
hopefulness, is a matter of practice. The daily practice of combating
despair (using the 15 techniques mentioned earlier) or building
fortitude (as discussed in the next section) will help. The ability to
practice presupposes that one has a modicum of energy and that one is
willing to try disciplining him or herself.

We would warn here against self-blame on the energy and discipline
area when one is truly immobilized by symptoms of a brain disorder.
Again, we would hold out the hope that some combination of scientific
advances and prayer will alleviate the symptoms of our brain disorder
that bog us down, and then permit us to practice hopefulness--which
will make us much happier yet.






--Quad-scope Method. We can, by practice, combat despair and build
fortitude. Perhaps another way of making a habit of hopefulness is
learning to flood our minds with pleasant ideas, happy images, joyful
memories, and things we look forward to doing in the future. While we
flood our thinking with this refreshing stuff, we try to limit the
percent of time we dwell on doomed visions of our future or morbid
sadness about our past.




In fact, let's say that we will spend no more than 20 percent of our
time dwelling on the darkness of the past and future. We'll call this
our "Worry-limit Rule." (Discuss this method with your mental health
professional to see if it is advisable for you to try this, or to use
something other than 20 percent as the limit.) At the same time, let's
divide our range of thinking into four time categories described
below:




1. The Past--everything that happened before we woke up this morning,
going back as far as we want.




2. Today--from the time we woke up this morning to the time we fall
asleep tonight.




3. The Future--everything that could happen from the time we wake up
tomorrow, going ahead as far as we want.




4. The Far Distant Future--our concept of an afterlife. For most
people, this is viewed as their destination of ultimate happiness.
(15)





Keeping in mind these above categories, we want to learn which to
focus on or scope-in on in order to be happier and more hopeful.
First, we'll want to apply our Worry-limit Rule and spend no more than
20 percent of our time fretting and fussing about The Past and The
Future.(16)

For now, let's try to scope-in on Today for the rest of the 80 percent
of our time. We need to be aware that there is plenty of goodness and
beauty in the world Today to focus our attention on. Try to follow
these points in focusing on Today and brightness:




* Recognize that Today brings you a combination of duties and joys.
Take care of both to maintain balance.




* Try to gain more self-mastery over your life by transferring the 20
percent worry-time into actual constructive problem-solving periods
that will ultimately help you.




* Start making a list of 25 things that you enjoy doing. After you
have completed some of your duties, do some of these things that you
enjoy. Plan to do some of these things in the future; practice looking
forward to things (or having things to look forward to).




* Start making a list of 25 things that people have complimented you
on over the last year or two. Keep these comments in mind instead of
getting down on yourself.




* Bring to mind ten or so pleasant (or funny) memories from the past.
Remember these instead of worrying.




* Think of ten or twenty people who have crossed your paths and have
treated you with kindness over the past few years. Remember them when
you're tempted to believe that the world is an awful place.




* When you find yourself breaking the Worry-limit Rule, trump(17)

the worry with a hopeful idea. Come up with a list of hopeful ideas
that will over-rule the worry.




* When worries start creeping over the borders of your Worry-limit
rule, do the best you can to do the things you are suppose to be
doing. Be aware of your duties. Fulfilling duties is a lot healthier
path than being drowned by worries.








Hope and Consolation




And what if we've tried everything, and we're still feeling down and
our outlook is still gloomy? What if we have a setback and parts of
our support system fall apart? Or if we are forced by circumstances
into a more supervised living arrangement? What if our benefits are
threatened?




We don't mean to minimize the pain in the above situations, or to
suggest that we can approach the specter of these circumstances with
ease. Yet, in these instances we may still feel some comfort in
hopeful consolations. There may be a sense of solace or reassurance
found deep in our higher yearnings. We may be consoled by considering
three ideas: 1) There will be meaning to the suffering; 2) We can grow
with our pain; and 3) for those with Faith(18)

--->Despite our current pain, our ultimate destination is happiness.




This whole idea of inner pain having benefits is discussed by famous
self-help writer John Powell in his audio-tape, "Suffering: It Can
Make You Bitter or Better." Powell claims that a period of unhappiness
can be a great teacher--that some of our most important victories are
painful or costly.




Powell speaks of the necessity of having a "previous mind-set" about
suffering, a sort of philosophy of explanation for unhappiness already
set in our heads. One example is that suffering can force us to
consider "deeper truths about living"--for when we suffer we are
forced to ask questions of ourselves that we never asked before.
Feelings of inner pain can become a challenge to grow. The well-known
Trappist monk Thomas Merton felt that long periods of deep unhappiness
were always a prelude to an awakening or a "rebirth" in his life; that
afterwards, the way he saw the world became more fresh and lucid than
ever before.




Part of the answer to suffering, according to John Powell, is to "walk
with it for a while to learn its lessons." He believes that a higher
wisdom can be gained by those who become unhappy, whose circumstances
ask them to "climb a great mountain." This of course is contingent on
our attitude--that we decide not to become bitter in our unhappiness.
Instead we become better and grow. (Of course, Powell is careful to
warn us against coming to morbid conclusions: We shouldn't look for
torture chambers for ourselves; in fact, we should enjoy and
appreciate life. But when suffering does come our way, Powell believes
that we can grow and gain wisdom from the experience, and avoid the
additional misery of bitterness.)


S.A. group leader Larry Z. has said that "If life is a school, then
mental illness is an advanced course in humanity." And probing deeper,
he has said that "Mental illness is like a blast furnace that burns
away our impurities to permit us ultimately to dazzle." In this
portrayal of our dilemmas, we eventually triumph. Something can
prevail throughout our inner pain: a goodness of heart that enables us
to become far better persons. We can come to glow.




George F. has come to S.A. meetings and offers us another perspective
from someone with mental illness. He says that even in the most humble
and modest circumstances, our lives can be a masterpiece, and that our
masterpiece can be appreciated by ourselves in "our most intimate
depths," even if not visible to others. George states that there are
times when inner doubts almost overwhelm a person, but this can be
counteracted with a healthy love of self and neighbor. He believes
that we can defy the pain by doing or contemplating something of a
higher good. For example, beautiful acts of kindness towards those in
need of kindness can restore in us our sense of mission. Or, we can
defy the pain by enjoying beauty and grace to our heart's delight.
George believes that by doing these things we contradict the pain at
its source.





* * *

So many of us wish we could overcome fear. We wish that we could shut
off that "scary video machine" in our heads that vividly displays
scenarios of our painful demise. We would like to gain self-mastery,
so that we could defuse our symptoms at will. Earlier we spoke of
"trumping" our worries with Hope. Maybe this is worth practicing all
the much more to gain a sense of consolation. When troubled images of
grave difficulty enter our minds, let's try trumping them with one of
these three hopeful consolations:




* There will be meaning to the suffering.(19)



* We will grow with our pain.

* Despite the pain, our ultimate destination is happiness.







Elements of Fortitude




The eight-stage model in the previous section seems to run
beautifully, but as we all know, there are instances in our life when
these stages don't work so smoothly. The nature of our difficulties
may sometimes derail this eight-stage process, much to our dismay. We
may feel insecure or begin to panic. Despair may creep back into our
emotions.




We might call the instances described in the paragraph above as "lapse
points," when we have lapses in our sense of hope, or when we lapse
back into despair for a period. But it's important that we don't view
these lapse points as permanent. Fortunately, most everyone is able to
reassert hope back into their life after a lapse. In fact, the ability
to recover from a lapse in hope can have something to do with our
sense of fortitude.




Fortitude(20)

is an element of inner strength(21)

that enables us to work at solving problems, and also to endure if the
resolutions of those problems are not in our favor. Hence, fortitude
has both an active and a passive side. In its active side, fortitude
enables us to take firm action in favor of justice. On the passive
side, it helps us endure ill feelings no matter what happens.




Fortitude is a very old word, going back to classical antiquity in the
writings of Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero. It is one of the four
cardinal virtues(22)

--along with prudence, temperance, and justice. The word is found in
Old Testament biblical translations, and many Christians believe that
fortitude is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is all to say
that the concept of fortitude has been important in Western traditions
for a very long time.




Part of our interest in fortitude deals with the strength it gives us
in supporting our sense of hope, and with how quickly we can reassert
hope after having a lapse point into despair. Hence, learning how to
build fortitude has a lot to do with cultivating hope and eventually
defeating despair.




There is an important point to make here early on in the discussion of
fortitude. A question might be raised: If fortitude is a virtue of
character, is a mentally ill person in despair really showing a
weakness of character when fortitude does not appear evident in his or
her behavior? The answer is a resolute NO!


In fact, most people with severe mental illness experience affliction
beyond the normal range of human suffering, and although they probably
could not name it, they evidence heroic fortitude in just struggling
to stay alive throughout the course of the illness. In our S.A.
meetings, members regularly report how they lost control of their
minds (usually in a state of torment) while their lives were falling
apart around them. Anyone, even those with the highest character and
standing, would break down under these symptoms and circumstances.
Personal weakness and defects of character are not factors in this
discussion.




The preponderance of scientific research maintains that the problem of
mental illness is rooted in biological malfunctions in the brain.
Using a word like fortitude simply enables members to name a virtue
that they have already practiced well; then having named it, members
can work on more ideas to build fortitude for the future when they
might need additional inner strength to cope with problems, or even to
solve them.






Building Fortitude




Fortitude can be acquired by way of habit. As mentioned, members
reading this have already practiced heroic fortitude, perhaps without
really knowing what the word meant. That we have survived severe
mental illness is a testament to our inner strength. If we are able to
build our emotional muscles even more in the form of additional
fortitude, we will be all the much more able to maintain our
hopefulness.




We build more fortitude by strengthening our sense of purpose in
living, by being willing to see things in new ways that are
encouraging and consoling, by anchoring our life around good strong
values, and for some people, by centering ourselves with a Higher
Power that will assure meaning and a loving end to all of life's
endeavors.




Building fortitude takes practice. We really haven't seen any experts
at fortitude yet. There probably aren't any. However, there are people
practicing the effort of building fortitude. And practice is the means
of making fortitude a habit and then part of our disposition. The big
benefit of this, again, will be the strength to hold on to our sense
of hope during difficulties.




In terms of things that we can practice on, on the next page are five
tips for building fortitude. These are a beginning, and examples
follow after. There will be a much deeper discussion on fortitude in
later papers.






--Five Tips for Building Fortitude. Try these ideas again and again.
We bet you'll gain more inner strength and then feel more hopeful.




1. Personal Motto. Develop a personal motto that is hopeful and will
anchor you in turbulent times.




2. Three Reasons to Live. Identify three purposeful reasons to live--
even through life's struggles. Also choose three things that you would
like to do in the future. (Perhaps something you can aim at when you
feel better, even if you can't do it now.) Remind yourselves of these
reasons when in difficulty.




3. Seeing a Higher Purpose to Things. Build personal courage by seeing
a higher purpose in your difficulty and resolving to see your problems
through the best way you can.




4. Ten Fortitude Affirmations. Develop and use a set of ten or so
Fortitude Affirmations that will help you hang in there through life's
trial periods and crucible experiences.




5. Deeper Faith. Consider trying Faith more deeply. (Or...When stuck
deep in difficulty, get more spiritual and contribute more to
something bigger than yourself.)




There are many examples of how the above tips can be applied, but here
are a few. In terms of personal mottos, there could be numerous
secular or spiritual approaches. In a secular method, a person viewing
her own pain might say to herself: "This too shall pass" again and
again as a motto. A spiritual type of person might repeat our nation's
motto: "In God we trust."




Reasons to live are compelling depending on the values of the person
in question. A mother might feel deeply that she must live in order to
raise her children. A young man in his early 20s might feel strongly
that he does not want to die young, and have resolve to live at least
to age 70. If he is really determined about this, he has a strong
reason to live. There are hundreds of reasons why people feel firmly
about the need or desire to live; we need to settle on our own reasons
in order to strengthen and fortify our feelings about life.




We don't want in any way to push Faith on those who want no part of
it. One may wish to keep in mind, though, that Faith can cripple
despair.(23)

In Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Step groups, people who despise
Faith and who are deep in despair, regularly decide to give
spirituality a try, and thereby they find their sense of hope
increases. There are no directives here. It is simply asked, without
pushing, if Faith isn't worth a deeper try when despair seems to be
winning? Perhaps it might be helpful to simply try saying the Serenity
Prayer over and over again to one's self and see if there is any
difference over time. For a more secular approach, one might decide to
contribute more volunteer work time to S.A.--an organization that is
"bigger than yourself."




Formulating a higher purpose to endure our difficulties can strengthen
our resolve to outlast the pain. In a later paper, numerous examples
of how this can be done will be given. For now, consider an example
that S.A. members will be able to relate to. Imagine that a female
member is seated alone at a fast-food restaurant, and a group of
teenagers look at her occasionally, start talking loudly among
themselves, look again, then she hears a bunch of cackling laughter
from the teens. The member begins to get very nervous and it leads her
into feeling paranoid; she quickly walks out of the restaurant. This
is the kind of story heard at meetings all the time.




There can be a higher purpose to outlasting the above problem--an
important principle to be upheld. We need, in an instance like this,
to reverence ourselves--to silently say to ourselves "I am a
worthwhile human being, worthy of regard." In doing this we are on an
important path, one of heroic fortitude. In our illness, we may hear
"voices," either inanimate or from real-life critics, and these voices
may try to diminish our innate human value. As we walk amidst this
dark chatter we can become poignant examples of the intrinsic value of
human life. We become walking, feeling messages even to our critics
themselves. We say to them: "Yes, there is meaning to all aspects of
life." As we affirm ourselves, we affirm the notion of basic human
dignity of all people. There can be a higher purpose to outlasting the
pain. The female member in the above example, by reverencing herself,
would affirm the high principle of human dignity.








--Ten Sample Fortitude Affirmations. These serve simply as examples of
Fortitude Affirmations, or short sentences that fortify us in
difficult circumstances. Please don't use these if they don't help
you. Make up your own affirmations that can get you through tough
spots.




1. At some future mountaintop, I'll be proud of myself for sticking it
out here.




2. In the long-run things will be okay, (and perhaps even better).




3. As old dreams die, new dreams will be born.




4. My pain will yield growth.




5. The pain won't last forever; I'm going to outlast this pain.




6. Some good will come out of my suffering; things will eventually
make sense.


7. Some of the good things I hope for will not come until later.




8. Things will even-out over time.




9. I'm essentially good, and am open to changing the parts of me that
aren't so good.




10. God exists; trust in Him.






Acquiring a Quiet Courage




There are so many ways to express what we are searching for here. We
want to hope. We are looking for the ability to "hang in there" when
things get tough, and to "stick it out" when all the odds seem against
us. We want a quiet courage--one that does not swagger, but protects
us from being emotionally yanked around by circumstances in our
environment. This quiet courage will give us enough conviction to
speak up for ourselves when our rights are being violated, and enough
forbearance to accept the smallness of people who have not yet learned
the importance of respectfulness.


We want a quiet courage that will help us to be firm and steady even
though our symptoms seem to attack us or warp our reality. We want
this quiet courage to give us a durability in the coming years of our
life and illness, and the stamina to persist in living, even in the
face of schizophrenia.







Reasons to be Hopeful




During the Renaissance, artists would make allegorical depictions of
the virtues in paintings and sculptures. For instance, Hope would
often be portrayed as a woman dressed in green and holding an anchor.
Fortitude would be a woman holding a sword. And that is how it is.
Hope anchors and stabilizes our emotions during difficulties, and
Fortitude stands ready to protect Hope. If the Choose Life Project had
an illustrator, Despair might be shown cowering beneath the joint
auspices of Hope and Fortitude.




There are reasons for Hope to flourish. In Paper Two there will be a
discussion on how to rebuild our lives after crucible experiences, and
how we can embrace a new vision about our future. Later, we will learn
how to build "ramparts of hope" in our self-talk, as well as
constructing a good reality-based self-esteem. Involved discussions on
how to gain inner peace and a sense of simple joy will follow, as will
numerous other means for obtaining consolation and growth despite our
illness.


Our vistas of Hope are as broad as the vistas of growth that our
illness presents for us as opportunities.(24)

We seek an outcome where Hope will grow along with us.




As we find our place in the flow of things, a place with a sense of
Hope, we need to be mindful that there is much goodness and beauty in
the world. We need to TRY to focus on these elements of goodness and
beauty. As discussed in a later paper, this effort in trying is called
becoming a "Good-finder"--and research shows that it is a predictor of
happiness. The "litany" on the following page is an exercise in trying
to become a Good-finder. If you have other items for hope and
consolation, please add them for your own litany.




At this stage we need to TRY to focus on what is benign and hopeful;
and when this is hard, we need enough consolation to see us through in
life. And when the almost inevitable lapses into discouragement come
up, we can look forward to Hope reinstating itself, and enjoying the
chance to TRY again.





A Litany of Hope and Consolation




There is hope in the world--

* Because there are people who care about other people;

* Because there are people who work together to produce something
good;

* Because there are people who create;

* Because we have some choices regarding how we think about our lives;

--And there is consolation because we can suffer with meaning.




There is hope in the world--

* Because there are kind people who will help feed the hungry;

* Because chemists, medical doctors, research scientists, and others
cooperate in producing new medications to reduce our suffering;

* Because Shakespeare gave us A Midsummer's Night Dream and The
Tempest;

* Because there is always someone who needs our love;

--And there is consolation because good can come out of suffering.




There is hope in the world--

* Because there are people who will tax themselves to assure care for
the mentally ill and mentally retarded;

* Because hundreds of thousands of people are able to work together at
General Motors, at Ford, and at Chrysler in order to produce our
nation's automobiles;

* Because Beethoven gave us his Ninth Symphony and the "Moonlight
Sonata;"

* Because we have chances to make up for our mistakes;

--And there is consolation because we can grow with our pain.




There is hope in the world--

* Because there are people who dedicate their lives to teaching the
young;

* Because hundreds of people work together at a local Community Mental
Health agency to make it possible for us to live in the community;

* Because there are artists, like S.A. member David M., who live in
noble poverty to create works of art that enrich our lives;

* Because we can take the opportunity to reach our best potential as
human beings;

--And there is consolation because our Higher Power will move things
towards a providential resolution.




There is hope in the world--

* Because there are people like nurses who will comfort our ailments;

* Because over 150 musicians, singers, and choral members work
together to bring alive a production of Handel's "Messiah;"

* Because Vincent Van Gogh gave us "A Starry Night;"

* Because there will always be more for us to learn about love;

--And there is consolation because our ultimate destination happiness.

Attachment #1





FIFTY QUOTATIONS ABOUT HOPE




Over the centuries, going back to ancient times, mankind has battled
despair and endeavored to cultivate a sense of hope about life and
living. This idea of hope has been described in the world's literature
going back to very early ages. Below is what some of the great men and
women of history and letters have written about hope. Perhaps we can
feel uplifted as we consider the words of those who came before us and
affirmed the idea of hope.






* "Hope elevates, and joy brightens his crest."

--John Milton (English poet, b. 1608)




* "Hope springs exulting on triumphant wing."

--Robert Burns (Scottish poet, b. 1759)




* "Hope, like the gleaming taper's light,

Adorns and cheers our way;

And still as darker grows the night,

Emits a brighter ray."

--Oliver Goldsmith (Irish writer, b. 1728)




* "Hope ever urges on, and tells us tomorrow will be better."

--Tibullus (Roman poet, b. 54 B.C.)




* "Hope springs eternal in the human breast."

--Alexander Pope (English poet, b. 1688)






* "What reinforcement we may gain from hope;

If not, what resolution from despair."

--John Milton (English poet, b. 1608)




* "Hope against hope, and ask till ye receive."

--James Montgomery (Scottish poet, b. 1771)




* "My hopes are not always realized, but I always hope."

--Ovid (Roman poet, b. 43 B.C.)






* "Hope is brightest when it dawns from fears."

--Sir Walter Scott (Scottish writer, b. 1771)




* Hope manages against despairing thoughts.

--William Shakespeare--paraphrased (b. 1564)








* "Through the sunset of hope,

Like the shapes of a dream,

What paradise islands of glory gleam!"

--Percy Bysshe Shelley (English poet, b. 1792)






* "We always hope, and in all things it is better to hope than to
despair."

--Goethe (German writer, b. 1749)




* "Races better than we,

have leaned on her wavering promise,

Having naught else but Hope."

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American poet, b. 1807)




* "Let no one despair, even though in the darkest night the last star
of hope may disappear."

--Frederich Schiller (German poet, b. 1759)




* "All things are to be hoped for by a man as long as he is alive."

--Seneca (Roman philosopher, b. 4 B.C.)




* "True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings:

Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings."

--William Shakespeare (b. 1564)




* "Behind the cloud the starlight lurks,

Through showers the sunbeams fall;

For God, who loveth all his works,

Has left his Hope with all."

--John Greenleaf Whittier (American poet, b. 1807)




* "Confident, though confounded; hoping on,

Untaught by trial, unconvinced by proof,

And ever looking for the never-seen."

--Edward Young (English poet, b. 1684)




* "The mighty hopes that makes us men."

--Alfred Lord Tennyson (English Poet Laureate, b. 1809)




* "But hope will make thee young, for Hope and Youth

Are children of one mother, even Love."

--Percy Bysshe Shelley (English poet, b. 1792)




* "For the hopes of men have been justly called waking dreams."

--Basil of Caesarea (a bishop, c. 370 A.D.)




* "With life many things are remedied.

(While there's life there's hope.)"

--Cervantes (Spanish writer, b. 1547)




* "To the sick, while there is life there is hope."

--Cicero (Roman statesman, b. 106 B.C.)






* "You ask what hope is. It is a waking dream."

--Pindar (Greek poet, b. 522 B.C.)








* "All things, said an ancient saw, may be hoped for by a man as long
as he lives."

--Michael Montaigne (French essayist, b. 1533)




* "Hope! thou nurse of young desire."

--Isaac Bickerstaff (Irish dramatist, b. 1735)






* "In so great a danger the faintest hope should be considered."

--Goethe (German writer, b. 1749)




* "Hope! of all ills that men endure,

The only cheap and universal cure."

--Abraham Cowley (English poet, b. 1618)




* "Hope, deceitful as it is, serves at least to lead us to the end of
life along an agreeable road."

--La Rochefoucauld (French writer and cynic, b. 1613)




* "Who bids me Hope, and in that charming word

Has peace and transport to my soul restor'd."

--Lord George Lyttleton (English statesman, b. 1709)




* "To hope till hope creates

From its own wreck the thing it contemplates."

--Percy Bysshe Shelley (English poet, b. 1792)




* "We do not stray out of all words into the ever silent.

We do not raise our hands to the void for things beyond hope."

--Rabindranath Tagore (East Indian poet, b. 1861)




DEFINITIONS




* Hope is "grief's best music."

--Henry G. Bohn (English publisher, b. 1796)




* Hope is "one of the ways in which what is merely the future and
potential is made vividly present and actual to us."

--Emil Brunner




* Hope is "the word which God has written on the brow of every man."

--Victor Hugo (French writer, b. 1802)




* Hope is "Faith holding out its hands in the dark."

--George Iles




* Hope is "that star of life's tremulous ocean."

--Paul M. James




* Hope is "a charm for every woe."

--Thomas Campbell (Scottish poet, b. 1777)




* "To hope is to enjoy."

--Jacques Delille (French churchman. b. 1738)




* Hope is "that very popular trust in flat things coming round!"

--Charles Dickens (English novelist, b. 1812)




* "Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul."

--Emily Dickenson (American poet, b. 1830)




* Hope is "the positive mode of awaiting the future."

--Emil Brunner




* Hope is the "patent medicine for disease, disaster, and sin."

--Wallace Rice




* Hope is "the source of all happiness."

--Philo (Greek scholar, 2nd century A.D.)




* Hope is "the brightness of our life."

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American poet, b. 1807)




* Hope is "an adventure, a going forward--a confident search for a
rewarding life."

--Karl Menninger (American psychiatrist, b. 1893)




* Hope is "an instinct which we cannot repress, and which lifts us
up."

--Blaise Pascal (French thinker, b. 1623)




* Hope is "the balm and lifeblood of the soul."

--John Armstrong (Scottish poet, b. 1709)




* "Hope is the pillar that holds up the world."

--Pliny the Elder (Roman statesman, b. 23 A.D.)




* "Hope is when you put your shoulder to the plow and dig a furrow
into the horizon. Far as you go, there is still more horizon and it is
beautiful."

--Larry A. (Member of S.A., b. 1950s)




Attachment #2





LISTENING TO HOPE AND DESPAIR




What the Voices of Despair Sound Like




Below are some of the thoughts a person in despair can hear in his or
her head. This sad and morose litany resembles some of the lines in
Old Testament psalms of despair (see Psalm 69). Keep in mind as you
read this, that the whole purpose of this exercise and of the Choose
Life Project is to work one's self out of the traps found in the
following words. These heavy sentences don't need to be the bottom
line "reality" that moves a person's life.






--I don't feel well; I probably won't feel much better; and my
situation will likely get worse.

--My life is wretched, and I'm afraid I will die in shame.

--I feel discouraged. The darkness that surrounds and engulfs me will
not lift.

--Some good things happen to me, but they're never enough--the bottom
line is always desolation.

--When there are days of brightness, I delude myself into thinking all
is well, all will be well; but soon I return to the true knowledge of
my despondency.

--I am distraught, as the things I try to do don't work; I fail at my
efforts.

--I am frustrated by not being able to get the things I need to be
happy--I am an emotional pauper.

--Disappointments lead to dejection, and I become desperate.

--If I once had promise, it is now shattered; there is no remedy to my
current lack of potential.

--My days are dreary and joyless; often I feel the disturbance of low
spirits, but lately, I simply don't care anymore--I am numb.

--No love I have is enough to brighten the gray days or to scatter the
black clouds that hover over me.

--I am exhausted and cannot muster the strength to fulfill my
obligations.

--I cannot adjust to this descent of my life--I find no meaning in it.

--There is no answer for me. There is no hope.

--When I look down the road ahead of me, I see mostly misery.








What the Voices of Hope Sound Like




The sentences below are in striking contrast to the voice of despair.
Persons hearing the following words are happier, see the world and
life in a brighter form, which compounds their happiness.




--I feel good now, and I am grateful.

--There are so many good people in this world, and I enjoy hearing
what they have to say.

--There are a lot of interesting things to do, and not enough time to
do them all.

--There is a much good work to do, and I'm glad for the chance to help
out and pitch in.

--Sure I have bad days, but the pain doesn't last forever. I know
that. I also know that in this life I'll sometimes be cornered in
darkness, but there is a sense of light that will eventually free me.

--I can make up for the mistakes I have made.

--I thoroughly enjoy the simple events of my daily life: a nice
conversation with a friend or co-worker, a funny television show, the
sweet singing of my pet canary, the newspaper article telling me that
the "good guys" are winning, a good cup of coffee, that wonderful old
song I heard on the radio today, being in the presence of someone I
love.

--People hurt me, but they also bring me great joy. When people bring
me suffering, I try to find meaning in it; I can usually reach some
conclusions.

--I don't get most of the things I want, but I don't notice it because
I'm so absorbed with the things I did get.

--I am enriched by those who create, and wish to join them.

--I can get almost high from periods of physical exertion, or when I
move at a fast pace.

--I feel inspired and peaceful from quiet moments of meditation, or
even the idea of faith.

--The world is full of wonder, and I am grateful for the reason to
hope.

--When I look at the road ahead of me, I see mostly happiness.




Attachment #3





150 HOPE-INSPIRING QUOTATIONS




Hardship and adversity are common tolls of the human experience. They
have been around since the beginning of history, but still we are
here. Part of the reason mankind is able to "make it" is a sense of
hopefulness in the way we look at things. Below are scores of
encouraging statements about life and living as asserted by great men
and women throughout history, people who themselves have experienced
adversity. Read these words and see if you aren't uplifted by agreeing
with what they have to say.





* "He who has suffered much will know much."

--Homer (Greek epic poet, circa 750 B.C.)




* Courage is "that virtue which champions the cause of right."

--Cicero (Roman statesman, born 106 B.C.)




* "If there is no struggle, there is no progress."

--Frederick Douglass (American abolitionist, b. 1817)





--ON PERSEVERANCE--

* "Water continually dropping will wear hard rock hollow."

--Plutarch (Greek historian, b. 46 A.D.)




* "The drop hollows out the stone not by strength, but by constant
falling."

--Richard of St. Victor (Christian monk, c. 1172)




* "God is with those who persevere."

--The Koran--Ch. VIII (Seventh century A.D.)




* "Those who don't know how to weep with their whole heart don't know
how to laugh either."

--Golda Meir (Israeli stateswoman, b. 1898)




* "Attempt the end and never stand to doubt;

Nothing's so hard, but search will find it out."

--Robert Herrick (English poet, b. 1591)


* * *




* Courage is "the integrating strength that causes one to overcome
tragedy."

--Eugene E. Brussell (A compiler of quotations, c. 1970)




* Courage is "the quality which guarantees all others."

--Winston Churchill (British statesman and writer, b. 1874)






* "Believe in life! Always human beings will live and progress to a
greater, broader, and fuller life."

--W.E.B. Du Bois (American social reformer, b. 1868)




* "The greatest courage is to bear defeat without losing heart."

--Robert G. Ingersoll (American thinker, b. 1833)




* "Whatever chance shall bring, we shall bear it with equanimity."

--Terence (Roman poet, b. 185 B.C.)




* "The burden that is well borne becomes light."

--Ovid (Roman poet, c. 43 B.C.)




* "If error is corrected whenever it is recognized as such, the path
of error is the path of truth."

--Hans Reichenback (German-American philosopher, b. 1926)




* "The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything."

--Bishop W.C. Magee (Irish prelate, b. 1821)




* "The secret of happiness is this: Let your interests be as wide as
possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that
interest you as far as possible friendly rather than hostile."

--Bertrand Russell (British philosopher, b. 1872)




* "It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be
what he is."

--Erasmus (Dutch thinker, b. 1466?)




* "The greatest happiness you can have is knowing that you do not
require happiness."

--William Saroyan (American writer, b. 1908)




* "Happiness? That's nothing more than health and a poor memory."

--Albert Schweitzer (Alsatian-German humanitarian, b. 1875)




* "Man--a being in search of meaning."

--Plato (Greek philosopher, b. 427 B.C.)




* "Sanity is madness put to good use."

--George Santayana (American philosopher, b. 1863)




* "When a man has pity on all living creatures then only is he noble."

--Buddha (East Indian religion founder, b. 563 B.C.?)




* "There is no wealth but life."

--John Ruskin (English art critic, b. 1819)




* "Unearned suffering is redemptive."

--Martin Luther King (American civil rights champion, b. 1929)




* "The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge."

--Bertrand Russell (British philosopher, b. 1872)




* "The man who has no inner life is the slave of his surroundings."

--Henri Frederic Amiel (Swiss philosopher, b. 1821)






* "Late on the third day, at the very moment when, at sunset... there
flashed upon my mind, unforseen and unsought, the phrase, Reverence
for Life."

--Albert Schweitzer (Alsatian-German humanitarian, b. 1875)




* "The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes."

--Frank Lloyd Wright (American architect, b. 1869)




* "When people are serving, life is no longer meaningless."

--John Gardner (American political activist, b. 1912)




* "Life is real! Life is earnest!

And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou art, to dust returneth,

Was not spoken of the soul."

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American poet, b.1807)




* "Hate the sin and love the sinner."

--Mahatma Gandhi (East Indian reformer, b. 1869)




* "Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride
worthwhile."

--Franklin P. Jones




* "Giving up is the ultimate tragedy."

--Robert J. Donovan




* "To grow old is to pass from passion to compassion."

--Albert Camus (French philosopher, b. 1913)




* "By perseverance the snail reached the ark."

--Charles H. Spurgeon (British clergyman, b. 1834)




* "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.
Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is
to keep your mind young."

--Henry Ford (American auto magnate, b. 1863)




* "Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I don't always like
being taught."

--Winston Churchill, (British political leader, b. 1873)




* "You can't hold a man down without staying down with him."

--Booker T. Washington (American educator, b. 1856)






* "I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability
of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavor."

--Henry David Thoreau (American writer, b. 1817)




* "Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates
profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love."

--Lao-tzu (Chinese philosopher, b. 604 B.C.?)




* "Wise sayings often fall on barren ground; but a kind word is never
thrown away."

--Sir Arthur Helps (English philosopher, b. 1813)




* "Life is mostly froth and bubble,

Two things stand like stone--

Kindness in another's trouble,

Courage in our own."

--Adam L. Gordon (Australian poet, b. 1833)




* "There is nothing permanent except change."

--Heraclitus (Greek philosopher, b. 540 B.C.)




* "To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it."

--Confucius (Chinese philosopher, b. 551 B.C.)




* "One word free us of all the weight and pain of life: that word is
love"

--Sophocles (Greek dramatist, b. 496 B.C.?)




* "Nothing on earth consumes a man more quickly than the passion of
resentment."

--Friedrich Nietzsche (German philosopher, b. 1844)




* "Every man has the right to be valued by his best moments."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson (American thinker, b. 1803)




* "Outside show is a poor substitute for inner worth."

--Aesop (Greek fable writer, c. 600 B.C.)




* "The maxim, `Nothing avails but perfection" may be spelled
`paralysis.'"

--Winston Churchill (British statesman, b. 1874)




* "Hatred is a feeling which leads to the extinction of values."

--Jose Ortega y Gasset (Spanish thinker, b. 1883)




* "There's nothing as effective as suffering to tear you apart and put
you back together again--resulting in a much deeper knowledge of who
you really are."

--Marcel Proust (French novelist, b. 1871)






* "It is easy to forget the people we have laughed with, but we never
forget the people with whom we've shared tears."

--Kahlil Gibran (Lebanese-American poet, b. 1883)




* "Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist, but the ability
to start over."

--F. Scott Fitzgerald (American novelist, b. 1869)




* "No man can justly censure another, because indeed no man truly
knows another."

--Sir Thomas Browne (English author, b. 1605)




* "Either a human being must suffer and struggle as the price of a
more searching vision, or his gaze must be shallow and without
intellectual revelation."

--Thomas de Quincy (English writer, b. 1785)




* "Pray to God, but continue to row to shore."

--Old Russian proverb




* "It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one
already knows."

--Epictetus (Greek philosopher, c. 90 A.D.)






* Don't be afraid to think small--much good can come from ambitions of
limited scope.

--paraphrased of Ivan Rouse (Contemporary music teacher)




* "Rejoice in your hope, be patient in your tribulation."

--The Bible (Rom 12:12)




* "The secret of happiness is to be delighted with a string of small
successes."

--Sheldon K. (S.A. old-timer)




* "One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of
the shore for a very long time."

--Andre Gide (French writer, b. 1869)




* "True miracles are created by men when they use the courage and the
intelligence that God gave them."

--Jean Anouilh (French playwright, b. 1910)




* "How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic for the striving, and
tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will
have been all of these."

--George Washington Carver (American botanist, b. 1863)




* "The first duty of love is forgiveness."

--Paul Tillich (German-American theologian, b. 1886)




* "Happiness comes when you find a mission in life and you take it
seriously."

--Karl Menninger (American psychiatrist, b. 1893)




* "Mental illness is like a blast furnace that burns away impurities
to permit us ultimately to dazzle."

--Larry Z. (S.A. old-timer)




* "Most friendships worth their salt are those nourished in human
struggle."

--Robert Veninga (American social-scientist, contemporary)




* "Some will say that hope lies is a nation; others in a man. I
believe, rather, that hope is awakened, revived, and nourished by
millions of solitary individuals whose deeds and works every day
negate despair and the cruelest implications of history. Each and
every man, on the foundation of his own suffering and joys, builds for
all."

--Albert Camus (French philosopher, b. 1912)




* "Love must be learned and learned again and again; there is no end
of it. Hate needs no instruction, but wants only to be provoked."

--Katherine Anne Porter (American writer, b. 1890)






* "He who does not quarrel is a bachelor without friends."

--St. Jerome (Early Christian writer and translator, b. 340)




* "When a man saves one life, he saves all humanity in time."

--Jewish Talmudic saying




* "The whole law is summed up in love."

--Bible (Romans 13:10)




* "Those who give, have all things. Those who withhold have nothing."

--Hindu proverb




* "We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it to the full."

--Marcel Proust (French author, b. 1871)




* "Pain instructs."

--Benjamin Franklin (American statesman, b. 1706)




* "If life is a school, then mental illness is an advanced course in
humanity."

--Larry Z. (S.A. old-timer)




* "Acts of kindness don't go to waste."

--Program adage




* "The fruits of prayer are faith; the fruits of faith are love; the
fruits of love are service; the fruits of service are peace."

--Mother Teresa of Calcutta (d. 1997)




* "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

--Martin Luther King (American civil rights leader, b. 1929)




* "For pain endured and remembered, we gain a sweeter joy."

--David G. Myers (American social scientist, contemporary)




* "I believe that each wound we suffer and eventually heal from is a
soul-making experience with the potential to awaken our willingness to
participate in the healing of our world."

--Joan Borysenko (American mind-body researcher, contemporary)




* "When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."

--Franklin Delano Roosevelt (American statesman, b. 1882)




* "I don't know about the key to success, but the key to failure is
trying to please everybody."

--Bill Cosby (American television star)




* "Nothing great was ever done without much enduring."

--Catherine of Siena (Medieval spiritual figure, b. 1347)




* "A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man
contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral."

--Antoine de Saint-Expury (French writer, b. 1900)




* "Live and let live."

--Traditional proverb




* "The secret to eternal happiness is eternal gratitude."

--Hindu proverb




* "Everything good done in the world is done by hope."

--Martin Luther (Religious leader, b. 1482)




* "If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."

--Dolly Parton (Contemporary country singer)




* "Love truth but pardon error."

--Chinese fortune cookie proverb




* "One of the things that has helped me as much as any other is not
how long I am going to live, but how much I can do while living."

--George Washington Carver (American botanist, b. 1863)




* "Do your duty until it becomes your joy."

--Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (Austrian writer, b. 1830)




* "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive
characters are seared with scars."

--E.H. Chapin (Cleryman and humanitarian, b. 1814)






* "Where there is money, there is fighting."

--Marian Anderson (American singer, b. 1902)

* "We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane."

--Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (Contemporary American writer)




* "The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that
human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds can
change the outer aspects of their lives."

--William James (American psychologist, b. 1842)




* "Happiness is liking what you do, as well as doing what you like."

--Dr. Laurence J. Peter (Contemporary writer)




* Courage is "grace under pressure."

--Ernest Hemingway (American novelist, b. 1899)




* Courage is "knowing what not to fear."

--Plato (Greek philosopher, b. 427 B.C.)




* Courage is "resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of
fear."

--Mark Twain (American writer, b. 1835)




* "Be steadfast as a tower that does not bend its stately summit to
the tempest's shock."

--Dante (Italian epic poet, b. 1264)




* "A man of courage is also full of faith."

--Cicero (Roman statesman and thinker, b. 106 B.C.)




* "Knowledge by suffering entereth."

--Elizabeth Barrett Browning (English poet, b. 1806)






* "Have patience and endure; this unhappiness will one day be
beneficial."

--Ovid (Roman poet, b. 43 B.C.)




* Sufferings are "the birth-throes of transition to better things."

--John E. Boodin




* Suffering is "the means of inspiration and survival."

--Winston Churchill (British statesman, b. 1873)








* "When we treat others in a loving manner, we preach the Gospel
without even uttering a word of scripture."

--Mother Teresa of Calcutta (d. 1997)




* Success is "getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you
get."

--Anonymous




* Suffering is "a revelation. One discovers things one never
discovered before."

--Oscar Wilde (Irish writer, b. 1854)




* "Many strokes, though with a little axe, hew down and fell the
hardest-timber'd oak."

--Shakespeare on perseverance (b. 1564)




* "Life, believe, is not a dream

So dark as sages say;

Oft a little morning rain

Foretells a pleasant day."

--Charlotte Bronte (English writer, b. 1816)




* "Patience is sorrow's salve."

--Charles Churchill (English poet, b. 1731)




* "It is hard! But what can be removed, becomes lighter through
patience."

--Horace (Roman poet, b. 65 B.C.)




* "For patience, sovereign o'er transmuted ill."

--Samuel Johnson (English lexicographer, b. 1709)




* "All things come round to him who will but wait."

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American poet, b. 1807)




* "We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat."

--Queen Victoria (English monarch, b. 1819)




* Courage is "fear that has said its prayers."

--Anonymous




* Courage is "being afraid but pushing on."

--Anonymous




* Courage is "a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a
mental willingness to endure it."

--William T. Sherman (American general, b. 1820)




* "A high hope for a low heaven: God grant us patience."

--Shakespeare (b. 1564)








* "How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal
but by degrees?

--Shakespeare (b. 1564)




* "The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable
combination."

--Maya Angelou (American poet, b. 1928)






* "Persevere and preserve yourself for better circumstances...

Every misfortune is to be subdued by patience."

--Virgil (Roman epic poet, b. 70 B.C.)




* "Patience is the art of hoping."

--Vauvenargues (French moralist, b. 1733)




* "Dreams are the touchstones of our characters."

--Henry David Thoreau (American writer, b. 1817)




* "The truly American sentiment recognizes the dignity of labor and
the fact that honor lies in honest toil."

--Grover Cleveland (American president, b. 1837)




* "Between grief and nothing, I will take grief."

--William Faulkner (American writer, b. 1897)




* "A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of
nothing."

--Oscar Wilde (Irish writer, b. 1854)




* "To escape criticism--do nothing, say nothing, be nothing."

--Elbert Hubbard (American newspaperman, b. 1856)




* "Criticism comes easier than craftsmanship"

--Zeuxis (Greek painter, c. 400 B.C.)




* "Everything that has truly enhanced and enlightened my experience
has been through affliction and not happiness."

--Malcolm Muggeridge (English writer, c. 1975)




* "There is no such thing as pure pleasure; some anxiety always goes
with it."

--Ovid (Roman poet, b. 43 B.C.)




* "Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help
them to become what they are capable of being."

--Goethe (German writer, b. 1749)




* "By virtue of being born to humanity, every human being has a right
to the development and fulfillment of his potentialities as a human
being."

--Ashley Montagu (British-American anthropologist, c. 1970)




* "Prejudice is an opinion without judgment...It is the reason of
fools."

--Voltaire (French thinker, b. 1694)




* "The diseases of the mind are more destructive than the diseases of
the body."

--Cicero (Roman statesman and thinker, b. 106 B.C.)




* "This great misfortune--to be incapable of solitude."

--Jean De La Bruyere (French moralist, b. 1645)




* "One of the great necessities in America is to discover creative
solitude."

--Carl Sandburg (American poet, b. 1878)




* "In solitude, be a multitude to thyself."

--Tibullus (Roman poet, b. 54 B.C.)




* "Change your thoughts and you change your world."

--Norman Vincent Peale (American self-help author, c. 1960)




* "From the errors of others a wise man corrects his own."

--Publilius Syrus (Latin writer, c. 1st century B.C.)




* "Who will tell whether one happy moment of love, or the joys of
breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air,
is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies."

--Erich Fromm (German-American author, b. 1900)




* "Experience is a brutal teacher. But you learn from it--by God, you
learn...Pain is part of the happiness. That's the deal."

--C.S. Lewis (English thinker and writer, b. 1898)




* "Nature does nothing uselessly."

--Aristotle (Greek philosopher, b. 384 B.C.)




* "Over the inevitable, thou shouldst not grieve."

--Bhagavad Gita (c. 200 B.C.)




* "And so it was. God saw that all he created was very good."

--Bible (Gen. 1:31)




* "Those who aim at great deeds must also suffer greatly."

--Crassus (Roman statesman, c. 70 B.C.)




* "I would much rather have men say why there is no statue of me, than
why there is one."

--Cato (Roman statesman, b. 234 B.C.)






* "Riches cover a multitude of woes."

--Menander (Greek poet, b. 342 B.C.)




* "Patience is the best remedy for every trouble."

--Plautus (Roman playwright, b. 254 B.C.)




* "I have been too familiar with disappointment to be very much
chagrined."

--Abraham Lincoln (American president, b. 1809)




* "Patience is certainly a high virtue." [Translated from the Middle
English.]

--Chaucer (English writer, b. 1343)




* "There is...only a single categorical imperative and it is this: Act
only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it
should become a universal law."

--Immanuel Kant (German philosopher, b. 1724)




* "What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?"

--Jean Jacques Rousseau (French philosopher, b. 1712)




* "When Heaven is about to confer a great office on any man, it first
exercises his mind with suffering, and his muscles and bones with
toil."

--Mencius (Chinese philosopher, c. 372 B.C.)




* "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."

--Jesus (Mt. 5:2)











Thanks to John Bartlett, Kate Louise Roberts (Hoyt's), Laurence Peter,
Eugene Brussell, Elaine Parthow, and others who compiled the books
from which these quotations were drawn.





ENDNOTES




1.

David G. Myers, The Pursuit of Happiness. New York: Avon Books. p.
201.

2.

Webster's New World Dictionary also describes Hope as "a feeling that
what is wanted will happen." The word itself can come in the form of a
noun or a verb, and is traced to the Anglo-Saxon and Middle English
word hopa, meaning to expect. The American Heritage Dictionary calls
Hope a verb meaning "to desire (something) with some confidence of
fulfillment," or a noun meaning "grounds for expectation." The Random
House American College Dictionary speaks of hope as "confidence in a
future event."

3.

This comes from an unpublished Master's thesis by Maureen E. Kassof
entitled "Exploring the Concept Hope in Patients with Chronic
Schizophrenia." (Wayne State University, School of Nursing; Detroit,
Mich., 1986, p. 29.) Ms. Kassof provides a valuable review of the
literature on the concept of hope, including an analysis of the
concept by French existentialist Gabriel Marcel. Marcel felt that hope
is activated when there is a temptation to despair. So then, says
Marcel: "Hope is the act by which this temptation is actively or
victoriously overcome." (Kassof, p.7.)

4.

This view of Hope, that things will in the end be O.K., comes from
U.S. Senator John McCain who used this idea when he was a prisoner of
war in North Vietnam for five years, two in solitary confinement.
Hope, framed in these words, helped him survive the ordeal and enabled
him to even have happy moments while in prison. From transcript of ABC
news special on "The Mystery of Happiness: Who Has It...How to Get
it...With John Stossel." (April 1996, p. 9.)

5.

For instance, we might say "I hope that Jenny arrived home safely."
Or, "I hope things are quiet in Bosnia today."

6.

Despair is literally the opposite of hope even by dictionary
definitions, which usually call despair the "utter lack of hope." This
holds true in the origins of the word "despair," which comes from the
Old French word "desperer." "Sperare" is the Latin word for hope;
hence, de+sperare means to be without hope. (By the 1200s, a form of
this word reached England in the Middle English word "despeiren.")

7.

Wanes, H. (1968). "Suicide in Schizophrenia." in Diseases of the
Nervous System, 29, p. 35-40. Quoted in Kassof (op. cit.) p. 26.

8.

From the association's six-page fact sheet on suicide, March 21, 1996.
American Association of Suicidology address: 4201 Connecticut Ave,
N.W./ Suite 310/ Washington, D.C. 20008 Phone: (202) 237-2280.

9.

Here is the calculation on the self-inflicted death figure. Every year
there about 30,000 self-inflicted deaths in the United States. In 1996
the estimated U.S. population was 264.6 million. Hence, 30T divided by
264,600T = .00011. In any one year about one percent of the deaths in
the United States are self-inflicted. For instance, in 1995--30.8T
divided by 2,312.2T = 1.3 percent.

10.

A recent edition of Time magazine (3/24/97) stated in a cover story
that the vast majority of Americans believe in an afterlife. In a
scientific survey conducted for the story, some 81 percent of
Americans believe "in the existence of heaven, where people will live
forever with God after they die." The percent believing in an
afterlife would be even higher if we considered those forms of an
afterlife other than heaven as viewed by some world religions.

11.

A crucible is a situation that represents a severe trial or test to
the person or persons involved. The imagery comes from metallurgy. The
crucible was a porcelain or graphite container that would withstand
enormous heat and enable the metal ore within to melt. In the context
of the Choose Life Project, a crucible experience is one of those
severe tests, where the difficulty of the situation could easily make
it hard to withstand the pressure. In other words, it seems like we
are in a crucible.

12.

See David Myers, The Pursuit of Happiness (op. cit.), which has an
entire section on the research regarding adaptability.

13.

In this context of trying, generally it seems that trial and error is
better than being afraid to make an effort due to fear of failure. A
"nice try" is a whole lot better than apathy. A whole line of thought
in psychotherapy focuses on how a sense of perfectionism can bind a
person into inaction due to fear of making a mistake. We'll vote for
trying.

14. David D. Burns, M.D. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. (New
York: Signet Books, 1980.) In this book, Burns popularizes and makes
accessible the work on cognitive therapy for depression and emotional
disorders that was pioneered by Dr. Aaron Beck at the University of
Pennsylvania. Since then, cognitive therapy has joined interpersonal
therapy, behavioral therapy, and psycho-dynamic therapy as the main
forms of talk therapy methods.

15.

According to the recent Time magazine article (op. cit.) only one
percent of the respondents to a national poll believed that they were
going to Hell, and 15 percent thought they would go to Purgatory
(before Heaven). Hence, the vast majority of people believing in an
afterlife do believe that it will ultimately be a happy experience.

16.

One member, when overwhelmed from worrying about the future, says
silently to himself: "Stop! If I think any more about the future I'll
go crazy." He then begins trying to focus his attention on immediate
duties that need to be done in the present.

17.

"Trump" is a notion in some card games (like Pinochle) where a certain
suit of cards outranks all other cards for a period. Here, the idea is
to have a sort of hopeful trump "card" to negate a worry. We learn to
trump worries with hopeful ideas. In this way, we over-ride the worry
or sense of discouragement with "suit" of hopeful thoughts.

18.

Scientific research surveys consistently show that over 90 percent of
Americans believe in God. As mentioned earlier, Faith may have an
important role in the ability of people with schizophrenia to form a
sense of hope. This is suggested by Maureen Kassof's study where
religion was viewed as the most important factor leading to
hopefulness in her sample of 20 patients with schizophrenia. (See
Kassof--"Exploring the Concept Hope in Patients with Chronic
Schizophrenia" [op. cit.])




Writer John Powell has made a useful distinction about Faith that
really fits these sorts of tough circumstances. Powell says there is
verbal Faith, then there is visceral Faith. In verbal Faith we have
simply stated the words about our spiritual beliefs over and over
again; verbal Faith is mostly untested. Visceral Faith, on the other
hand, resonates far into our sinews; it is deep-seated. Usually,
visceral Faith gets that way because it has undergone the tests of
time and struggle in the individual person who possesses it. Visceral
Faith is harder to get, but it is also sturdier.

19. This notion that there is meaning to suffering will be further
discussed in detail in a later corollary paper to the Choose Life
Project.

20.

The sources for this discussion on fortitude and the other virtues
include The Encyclopedia Britannica, The Encyclopedia Americana, The
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, and The New Catholic
Encyclopedia.

21.

Fortitude comes from the Latin word fortis, which means "strong"; it
later developed into the Latin word fortitudo. According to Webster's
dictionary, fortitude means: "firm courage; patient endurance of
misfortune, pain, etc." The American Heritage Dictionary says that
fortitude is the "Strength of mind that allows one to endure adversity
with courage." The Random House American College Dictionary speaks of
fortitude as "patient courage under affliction, privation, temptation,
etc.; moral strength or endurance."

22.

A virtue might be defined as a quality of a person that enables him or
her to make good or appropriate actions. Most of the formal
definitions stress that virtues are stable personal dispositions, and
that they can be acquired from firm attitudes or habitual practice.
Religious definitions often simply say that virtue is the disposition
to do good. In the Middle Ages, scholars believed that the cardinal
virtues could be acquired by human practice, whereas the theological
virtues were Divinely infused into the person.




Fortitude, traditionally was one of the four cardinal virtues, to
which were added the "theological virtues" of faith, hope, and
charity. (In some translations the latter term is called "love.")
These make up the seven chief virtues in the Western heritage; these
seven virtues correspond in opposition to the so-called seven deadly
sins.




Plato, in the Republic, was the first to enumerate what became the
four cardinal virtues in the form of wisdom, temperance, courage, and
justice. In the Christian era, wisdom was renamed "prudence," and
courage was renamed "fortitude." St. Ambrose (c. 390 A.D) was the
first to explicitly call these four the cardinal virtues, derived from
the Latin cardo meaning "hinge"; man's morality and ethics, then,
hinged on the cardinal virtues. St. Augustine, Ambrose's pupil, added
the theological virtues from New Testament text. So, in summary, the
seven chief virtues of Western traditions are faith, hope, charity,
prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice.




The Biblical reference of fortitude as a gift of the Holy Spirit is
Isaiah 11:2; some translations use the word "strength." Galatians
5:22-23 uses words similar to fortitude as fruits of the Holy Spirit,
i.e., in different translations--patience, endurance, strength,
courage, and long-suffering.

23.

David Myers, Ph.D., in The Pursuit of Happiness (op. cit.), spends an
entire chapter discussing how spirituality and religion can fight
despair and increase one's chances of feeling happy. His book is a
compilation of the research work done on the subject of happiness.
Myers quotes studies that show that the rate of self-inflicted death
is substantially lower for those with a sense of spirituality. For
confirmation see the April 1994 edition of Hospital and Community
Psychiatry (pp. 366-369). This source article by Kehoe and Gutheil
shows that study after study concludes that religious beliefs reduce
the incidences of self-inflicted death.

24.

The contention here is that the pain of schizophrenia is a "great
mountain to climb." Our sense of personhood extends as we make this
climb, even though we might appear outwardly broken. The struggle
enables a hidden growth to occur. This will be further discussed in a
corollary paper to the Choose Life Project on "Finding Meaning to
Suffering."