This week, Nick Cave dropped in on Stephen Colbert’s chat show to talk about a lot of things - but his response to a fan letter caused a buzz, in which he replied to someone sharing their struggles to stay hopeful in the face of cynicism, asking Cave: “Do you still believe in us human beings?”
Cave’s response quickly went viral on social media, and it’s not hard to see why:
“Much of my early life was spent holding the world and the people in it in contempt. It was a position both seductive and indulgent. The truth is, I was young and had no idea what was coming down the line. It took a devastation to teach me the preciousness of life and the essential goodness of people. It took a devastation to reveal the precariousness of the world, of its very soul, and to understand that the world was crying out for help. It took a devastation to understand the idea of mortal value, and it took a devastation to find hope.
Unlike cynicism, hopefulness is hard-earned, makes demands upon us, and can often feel like the most indefensible and lonely place on Earth. Hopefulness is not a neutral position — it is adversarial. It is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism.
Each redemptive or loving act, as small as you like — such as reading to your little boy, showing him something you love, singing him a song, or putting on his shoes — keeps the devil down in the hole.
It says the world and its inhabitants have value, and are worth defending.
It says the world is worth believing in.
In time, we come to find that this is so.”
I love this reframing of hope, because - like curiosity - it’s often assumed to be a passive thing you have very little to no control over. If you’re hopeless, oh well, nothing to be done. But Cave believes hope is active - a faith in some aspect of the world that you can put to good use, even in the tiniest of ways, a lever to help bend reality in the right direction, for yourself and for others.
And in Rebecca Solnit’s words, “Hope is not a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. It is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency…. Hope is a gift you don't have to surrender, a power you don't have to throw away.”
What are you choosing to be hopeful about right now?
I’d love to know. Leave your answer in the comments.
I was in Glasgow last weekend and stopped into a bar that happened to be doing an open mike thing. It was still afternoon, and sunny, so there were only a couple of us in the place, but a duo—both women, middle aged, a little downtrodden--were performing some quite lovely ballads. When they finished and were leaving, I told one of them how much I liked their music. She just lit up, as if someone had just turned a lamp on her, then told the other one, who did the same. It reminded me how we can be these moments of brightness in other people's lives, even ones we barely cross paths with. That gives me hope.
Lisa, you are so correct, and I'm delighted that your told us this story.
Dale Carnegie made mention of the fact that small compliments like that can brighten someone's entire day, and it is so true. I always look for something about which to make mention, that I admire about other people, especially service workers. Grocery store check-out staff are often treated as though non-existent and I make a special point to speak with them and draw them out in a friendly manner. Their attitude almost always brightens immediately. This is a free gift we have, that we can share with others, at no cost to ourselves.
I've noticed lately in wandering around the community, often times in stores, that if I give people a somewhat pointed smile, they will quickly return it. While non-verbal, this action seems to have a similar effect to the act of giving small compliments.
Absolutely. We keep a small dish of individually wrapped chocolate and candies by the front door. Any time the postman knocks or we have a grocery delivery etc we offer them a sweet. It never ceases to amaze me how much this cheers them up. The number of folks who respond with utter confusion and ask “Are you sure?” makes me a little sad, but it always brightens our day as well as theirs.
My wife and I are both musicians and performers. She was going up to the stage to do what you did, which is to thank the performers for their wonderful music and make other comments, when someone said oh, you don’t need to do that, musicians know they’re good.
Well, my eyebrows just went up even thinking about that comment. I don’t think it’s just about them, knowing that they’re good, because all artist perform because they love to perform, but I think it’s simply acknowledging that something was special to you to the person that made that thing that was special. and like you said, this was a simple act and had a big impact. I appreciate your comment and thank you so much.
I choose to be hopeful about Substack, because of people like you, Mike. I joined to get a better sense of community, rather than clicks, likes, shares, and a never ending stream of the Instagram algorithm (although, we all want to be liked!).
I'd rather have 20 dedicated readers than 200 people who click, look at my post for 2 seconds, and then go on their way.
The small amount of cynicism always rises to the top, because the loudest voice is always heard first and, unfortunately, the loudest voices are always the angriest voices. But, if we just take the time to be present and look around once in a while...
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I like Substack‘s because people read and engage. The news is so much hype and interpretation by media pundits. it’s somewhat pretty repugnant.
I have a newsfeed that allows people to comment and basically it could be something close a means to let people do primal screams or basically just disc one another with very vulgar terms. I’m constantly amazed at how boldly people can attack people they don’t know with so little information.
But that’s not what happens here and that’s why I’m here and rarely on that news service.
I suppose that’s where the hope is for me. I know there’s good people out there and I know if you engage people correctly and listen, you can find the basic goodness. But it takes patience and a willingness to listen.
Thank you for this thread, Mike! It reminds me of a Bertolt Brecht quote I had up in my house for years and years: "Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it." And also this one by Toni Morrison: "This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal."
I am weirdly hopeful (it's only weird because I can't remember the last time I was hopeful around electoral politics) about the upcoming presidential election in the United States. Not because it will fix everything, but because I think it might succeed in giving fascism a kick in the teeth while also supercharging folks' imaginations for what is possible. Our collective political imaginations have been asleep for way, way too long.
This also makes me think of the great Stephen King quote from ON WRITING: "Put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support-system for art. It's the other way around."
They may not cure everything but images of piglets and belly laughs go a long way to defusing anger and fear so we can have actual conversations with each other.
I'm not finding much fascism in the upcoming political election. The now-departing gentleman did deliver incredibly insensitive encouragement at a recent rally to engage in physical violence, which was just vile, on his part.
Roy, I would encourage you to read up on Project 2025. Despite Donald Trump’s attempts to distance himself from it, that’s the playbook if he’s elected. It’s straight up fascist Christian Nationalism.
Deceitfully linking Donald Trump with Project 2025 is non-factual. My response to Asha was as non-committal as it is possible for me to be in situations such as that.
It appears you have no issue with the oxymoronic phrase "fascist Christian Nationalism," so you've no place lecturing me if you condone language such as that.
"It [hope] is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency." I really needed this imagery, thank you for sharing Rebecca Solnit's inspiring words. I've felt devoid of hope and axe's the last couple of years as I navigate live without my husband. 54 is a weird age to become. a widow. I'm not "old" but not so young either. My son is 12 now, and I'm 57. Starting over, creating a new life after 50 isn't easy, but I suppose it never is after your spouse, your best friend, and your child's father dies. Hope and grief can, and do live side by side.
I believe that when we teach ourselves to be more aware of how insignificant we are, as individuals compared to the whole population on Earth, and as a form of life in a tiny blue insignificant planet compared to what's out there in the universe, there is a form of peace that comes with that, letting us know that everything will be fine. Even if we manage to destroy Earth, to the universe, nothing happened. To me, it makes me focus on what I can control and change. So instead of worrying about world and national events I can't control, I get myself involved in neighborhood activities, help charities, and do good deeds to people when possible. This is my way of improving the world and as a consequence the world around me is better than the world we see on the news. I tell my wife and daughter all the time to "leave everything better than it was, when possible, if not, at least don't leave things (and people) worse than they were". Easier said than done, but it's my motto. I also have this personal motto "prepare for the worst, expect the best, face whatever comes in your direction". Accepting that life has ups and downs, yet preparing yourself even for "black swan events", also helps me going through life's turbulences.
I'm choosing to be hopeful that pursuing a PhD at age 50+ is not a massive waste of time and money. Most of the time I believe this, but there are those times, like when you're lying awake at 2am while the rest of the world sleeps and you know that you're all alone and all wrong and nothing will ever be good and right... thankfully, I don't have many of those times. Because the truth is, I've learned so much and developed into a better person as a direct result of the years I've spent in grad school (while continuing to work full-time in a demanding field) since I was age 45+. It's hard to value those things in hours or dollars.
This is encouraging and hopeful to me! I'm 43 now, and contemplating returning to school for an advanced degree in a few years, when I'll only have two kids still in high school. Thanks for sharing.
I'm so glad to hear that! I was 44 when I started my MS degree, and I defended my thesis a week before my 48th birthday. :) I started this PhD program in February 2023, and I'll be 54-55 when I finish. And yes, this has been taking two classes per term while working full time. So yes, you can 100% do it!!
This active sense of hope reminds me of a passage that really struck me in reading Let This Radicalize You by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba.
It's quoting Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone:
"Active Hope is a practice. Like tai chi or gardening, it is something we do rather than have. It is a process we can apply to any situation, and it involves three key steps. First, we take a clear view of reality; second, we identify what we hope for in terms of the direction we’d like things to move in or the values we’d like to see expressed; and third, we take steps to move ourselves or our situation in that direction. Since Active Hope doesn’t require our optimism, we can apply it even in areas where we feel hopeless. The guiding impetus is intention; we choose what we aim to bring about, act for, or express. Rather than weighing our chances and proceeding only when we feel hopeful, we focus on our intention and let it be our guide."
Especially when dealing with chronic illness and late-diagnosed neurodivergence - all of a sudden all those things you were fighting yourself in your head about can become beneficial intentions, not personality flaws; you can finally see the value of your supposed 'weakness' as the strength you can make it into and how it can help others.
Even when the situation feels hopeless, you absolutely can have hope!
I choose to believe there is better and best around me and that it will win out. Every day my dog and I walk in the Outdoors creates bountiful hope. Nature is resilient so why can't we be? Every moment I spend with family and friends is filled with hope.
Every time a wave breaks on the beach, it casts hope towards us and pulls hopelessness away. It's the way I choose to live...
Lovely words and it would be great if it was as simple as that.
Unfortunately if we do not care about our personal safety and security something will give and hopefully I do NOT want these continued assaults, brutal knife attacks and murders.
We need to address root causes and stop being weak and overly forgiving. Be honest and speak about these difficult issues. And labelling of people as far right, thugs, racists and fascists is just not right, fair or proportionate.
I am sure we all want to go back to listening to the birds sing and hearing the V formation of Geese overhead, seeing the sunset and enjoying our beautiful countryside.
Hey I liked your post and love some of the things you like too. Have a great summer and take care.
I live in Australia, have been an environmental protester appearing at tribunal hearings to save coastal beaches and estuaries, having talked on radio and to the papers about the purpose.
I have walked the walk with a daughter who has been viciously assaulted by a white Englishman who had his visa cancelled and was deported back to the UK for his crime. Observe the words 'white' and 'Englishman'.
I refuse to be cynical, think humanity and compassion is a pretty good rule to follow, vote accordingly and will never give up hope.
I'm very optimistic about the recent (but palpable and powerful) turn from authoritarianism toward democratic rule of late. Let's keep this going, please!
I've recently acquired a new roommate; a one kilo Yorkshire terrier, and he provides tremendous inspiration to approach life with enthusiasm and energy. I am quite grateful for his playful companionship, exhausting as it is!
I'm hopeful about everything. Or I try to be. Not in a Pollyanna-ish naive way, but in a deliberate, self-reassuring way. I think without hope we may as well give up. Hope is a necessity for modern life.
I am hopeful by nature. I have had one too many glasses of wine on occasion and lashed out at those who accuse me of being a Pollyanna. "It's easy to be grim," I say, "hope is for the bold." So there! Hope on!
CEO Waymond: [to Movie Star Evelyn] All of those years ago when we first fell in love, your father would say I was too sweet for my own good. Maybe he was right.
Waymond Wang: .
[to Verse-Jumpers]
Waymond Wang: Please! Please! Can we... can we just stop fighting?
CEO Waymond: You tell me it's a cruel world and we're all running around in circles. I know that. I've been on this earth just as many days as you.
Waymond Wang: I know you are all fighting because you are scared and confused. I'm confused too. All day, I don't know what the heck is going on. But somehow, this feels like it's all my fault.
CEO Waymond: When I choose to see the good side of things, I'm not being naive. It is strategic and necessary. It's how I've learned to survive through everything.
Waymond Wang: I don't know. The only thing I do know... is that we have to be kind. Please, be kind - especially when we don't know what's going on.
CEO Waymond: I know you see yourself as a fighter. Well, I see myself as one too. This is how I fight.
I'm choosing to be hopeful about everything. I'm paying attention, aware of how much brokenness there is in the world--emotionally, economically, environmentally, politically, spiritually...it's a long damn list--and recognizing that without hope, we have no reason at all to keep trying. Nothing makes me angrier than feelings of powerlessness. Hope gives me back my power.
As a grandmother to two little boys 9 and 7 months old… my knees are shaking. I have stilled them somewhat by watching a new film called ‘Eating for Tomorrow’ narrated by Kate Winslett. I have been mostly vegetarian since 1986 but have found new delicious ways to act sustainably due to the info from this film! Quit eating meat as often to help our planet! Please watch it!
Love and peace to you all from North Vancouver B.C.
People are thinking about and writing about (thank you, Mike) and hoping for and dreaming about a better future. That helps me feel hopeful. We continue to evolve and improve.
A bit late to the party, but I’ll throw my hat in to the ring.
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I work in health and social care in Scotland. These are difficult times - budgets are shrinking rapidly, cuts are having to be made, and this is impacting on services for end users. These are often not people that have the option of a private provider.
For many working in this sector conditions are, at best, stagnant in a time of rising bills. Add to that the concerns many have for their families and young people moving in to the world of ‘adulting’, and the myriad of other local and global issues and it would be easy to be despondent.
However, many of the people I come in to contact with on a daily basis are working minor miracles in difficult circumstances, particularly when faced with unrealistic expectations. They are genuinely inspirational. I’m reminded of the famous phrase “Think globally, act locally”. These are people doing lots of small things on a daily basis which are all adding up and making a real difference.
My recovery. I really needed this today. I ordered Nick's book from the library yesterday--if anyone has walked through hell, it's Cave. My little island or despair and cynicism is strewn with weeds and I can't breath. I generally choose the word "faith" over "hope." But, today, recovering from my third relapse and detox in one year, I'll take the hope axe.
I'm hopeful about humans’ ability to adapt and survive. AI, social media and its effects on mental health, and climate change are big-name topics these days that some believe are existential threats to humanity, and they all could be. But, humans are very good ad adapting (we are amazingly poor and planning ahead) so I am hopeful that these things are problems we solve and progress through into the future.
First of all - mad props for being a fan of Nick Cave. I love him and it’s always nice to see someone mention his awesomeness!
I adore the idea of hope being a lever to bend reality and find ways to help others and change the world. Hope can be in short supply when you’re dealing with complex chronic illness - and I’ve been in a flare that’s had me feeling rather down.
When I think of hope in the context Cave describes - I think of the community I’m building here. I’m very new - but the people that I’ve met and the bonds being formed give me tremendous hope. Hope for what the written word can accomplish. For what a community of like minded people can do to bring about change. For the power of language to inspire, shift viewpoints and change hearts and minds.
I’m genuinely hopeful (and excited!) to see what comes next.
There’s a beautiful quote by Sharon Salzburg that goes ‘Love through hope becomes faith’ and I think about it when I look at the younger generation coming up. My teenager and his friends are just great, funny, kind kids; irreverent but respectful and it gives me so much hope for and faith in the future. I think the kids are alright, more than alright in fact, and everything will be okay because of them.
I will shortly be starting my new career as a Speech and Language Therapist. It fills me with hope to see SLTs and other allied health professionals working quietly to improve people's lives, through improving communication or swallowing.
Faith - I was part of London City Mission's online prayer meeting to pray for communities impacted by the terrible racist riots in the UK. We were all kinds of different people coming together in unity and love, and it was beautiful. The work of Webber Street day centre, Southwark, next to Waterloo in providing safe space, love, care, practical support, soul care and beauty through art classes to people experiencing homelessness. Indie cinema - healthy number of really good independent films hitting the big screen and being appreciated widely. The people giving to a fund to rebuild the shamefully burnt out library at Spellow Lane, and neighbours who came to show love and care to those heinously targeted during these shameful times. Photographers on Instagram like Sam Binding, Farmer Torque, Jack Lodge and Chris Fletcher (cpf photo) who are capturing the beauty in the world and sharing it with us all =)
Thanks for sharing this, Mike. Cave certainly gave a thoughtful answer—wow!
I'm hopeful that Harris-Walz will finally vanquish Trump's reign of terror, and quite decisively! I realize I can't just "hope", though, and will do my little part to get them over the finish line.
I really appreciate this thread - its not often that any of us get the purposeful opportunity to confirm how Positive we can be as Families as Individuals and as Humans. Lives can can sometimes be very difficult - but then we rise above this mundane inanity because why should anyone just expect everything to be easy ??
I try to make a habit of giving out random compliments. If someone standing next to me in a queue (I’m British) or passes me in the street has lovely coloured dress or whatever I always compliment/mention it to them. I recently stopped the car and lowered the windows in a grocery store parking lot when i noticed a lady with the most gloriously pink hair. I’m sure people think I’m nuts…now i will view myself as a radical warrior on a mission to spread hope wherever and whenever possible. As usual thanks Mike, you brighten my day.
My whole life I felt just out of phase, just out of synch, a little off, not quite right ... I've been writing forever to make sense of existence and published my first book (There is Something I Need to Tell You, Beth Janvrin) exploring feelings and experiences after several diagnoses and learning I was neurodivergent.
My hope is, even if someone doesn't feel exactly the same, the experience will be explored in such a way so as to provide a little grace.
This isn't a personal failing, it's not your fault, you didn't mess up again, do something wrong etc. You're just a little bit different, and for a good reason, you add something only you can to this world.
Don't be ashamed of that. Your strengths are others weaknesses, not to put them down with, but to collaborate together to help each other out and create something beautiful. We need everybody!
I am a physician who takes care of critically ill children. When I tell people what I do, I get one of two responses - that must be so hard, and that must be so wonderful. It's both, but it does give me hope. I often see people at their very best at the very worst of times. I'm blessed to get to be there.
Hope, for me, is about choosing to believe that everything that happens in life has meaning. That no experience is wasted, it is all growing us and moving us forwards. It's trusting that there is a path we're on, even if it's not the one our thinking mind is clutching to, and that we don't always necessarily know what is 'good' and 'bad' for us.
I hope for a world filled with more Nick Cave fans, and less sycophantic apprentices of despotic leaders. I wrote about Nick Cave in my post on Risotto Transformations yesterday, now that's an original sentence.
If you read any contemporary psychological literature on hope, it's very much an active process associated with wellbeing and other benefits. It's a motivational goal-oriented force made up of agency (a belief that I can achieve my goals) and pathways (I can generate multiple paths to achieve my goals, thus reducing the likelihood of being stumped my obstacles) Recent developments in Hope Theory explore how the surrounding systems that individuals operate within might impact their hope.
This work is being done by colleagues here in Australia. Nick Cave is also Australian. Maybe we're a hopeful nation? 😉
Hope is a verb, but it means nothing without action. I’m hopeful that there are more of us who care to preserve our democracy, than those that want to burn it all down. When we win in November, we’ll climb out of the ashes of despair with a renewed sense of purpose and community.
I have to believe that, think it and act on it to maintain my hope.
I believe in the expression “the truth shall set you free.” I’m hopeful these days because millions of people now see the truth of what is, and has been, going on in Palestine. For so many years that has not been the case. But at what a price that truth has exacted!
I am hopeful as my kid begins high school and I have begun an MFA in CNF. I'm hopeful that everyone keeps climate and Earth and human rights as a top priority whenever they vote. I am hopeful things will settle better after moving two years ago. I'm hoping to see my nonagenarian parents again soon. I hope people can allow Hope to fill their hearts like a balloon.
There were years in my life I gave up on hope and they were the darkest of my life. Hope is not passive. When I opened my heart and mind to it again, it changed my life and it's opened more doors and windows for me personally. I hang onto it closely these days. Definitely like a warrior's shield.
This is timely for me Mike. This weekend I attended The Medicine Festival near Reading and it filled me with hope and optimism. The joy, kindness, creativity and ideas emanating was enough to soften the most hardened of cynics. There is a new movement brewing, one that is moving towards hope and joy and ok, so they may dabble in the occasional psychedelic, but whatever it takes baby!
There are so many more people working together across the globe to make this world a better place. Far more than we can ever imagine. The endless news cycle of death and danger and loss doesn't talk about it much: but just because it's not 'breaking news'-worthy doesn't mean it's not true. I'm hopeful for us.
Nick Cave's The Red Hand Files have been a source of true nourishment when living in "a world of broken poetry." I just wanted to post here, it is incredibly soulful and Good in every way:
Thanks for this thread, and the idea of hope as a deliberate action (like Massive Attack said, "love, love, is a verb, love is a doing word" and i thunk it applies to hope as well) and thanks to all the commenters for sharing!
For me as a teacher, the beginning of the school year (our district goes back to work tomorrow) is always a season of renewed hope. Hope that I/we can do better, that I can connect with the students and share the wonder of chemistry, that this cohort will be engaged in learning, that I will grade faster and lecture less, that my students will do well on their exams but more importantly feel like they learned something interesting, that my colleagues and I will continue to support each other, that everyone stays safe and healthy. I could go on. And every year has a different set of challenges, but also a different set of benefits. I don't have summers "off" in that I don't get paid for 2 months and I still end up in the school building 10-20 days taking care of some of the infrastructure that we don't have time for during the school year (chemical inventory, rearranging cabinets, sorting and filing, etc). But I do appreciate the time away from the regular grind, time to reflect and repurpose, and to come back with renewed hope.
I was born with an innate sense of hope that I wish I could give away. It isn’t easy exactly, I have to push hard sometimes to stick to it, but I usually feel like I can get through things and that people will try to do right. Even now, during a sad week for me and a trying time, I feel this place of understanding inside me that things will get better. That my friends and family will still love each other and that we will find smiles to return every day. If only I could bottle it up and share. I hope lots of people read this and feel better.
When Emily Dickinson said hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, she didn't mention the part where it has a sharp little beak and will peck, peck, peck at your insides. To move you forward. To keep you from lethargic inaction. To disallow you from despair. Despair is more tempting because it lets you rest (even if where you're resting is a dark place). Sometimes you're so exhausted by trying that rest of any kind is the most appealing thing you can think of. Hope doesn't let you stay there even when you kind of really want to.
I'm raising four teenagers alone and I have all kinds of wild hope for them and because of them. They don't see the same taboos and uncrossable lines that I grew up with. They don't put up with bullsh*t. They ask piercing questions. They offer respect but they also expect it. They are kind and they have boundaries. They have a lot to learn (as we all did, and still do), but they are starting out in life with so many more tools and so much more understanding in hand, things I feel like I just started to grasp in my early 30s. And yes, they're my kids so I'm a little biased but it's not just my kids -- their friends, their peers too. I have a lot of hope for what they can and will change just by living their lives.
I was in Glasgow last weekend and stopped into a bar that happened to be doing an open mike thing. It was still afternoon, and sunny, so there were only a couple of us in the place, but a duo—both women, middle aged, a little downtrodden--were performing some quite lovely ballads. When they finished and were leaving, I told one of them how much I liked their music. She just lit up, as if someone had just turned a lamp on her, then told the other one, who did the same. It reminded me how we can be these moments of brightness in other people's lives, even ones we barely cross paths with. That gives me hope.
Lisa, you are so correct, and I'm delighted that your told us this story.
Dale Carnegie made mention of the fact that small compliments like that can brighten someone's entire day, and it is so true. I always look for something about which to make mention, that I admire about other people, especially service workers. Grocery store check-out staff are often treated as though non-existent and I make a special point to speak with them and draw them out in a friendly manner. Their attitude almost always brightens immediately. This is a free gift we have, that we can share with others, at no cost to ourselves.
I've noticed lately in wandering around the community, often times in stores, that if I give people a somewhat pointed smile, they will quickly return it. While non-verbal, this action seems to have a similar effect to the act of giving small compliments.
Absolutely. We keep a small dish of individually wrapped chocolate and candies by the front door. Any time the postman knocks or we have a grocery delivery etc we offer them a sweet. It never ceases to amaze me how much this cheers them up. The number of folks who respond with utter confusion and ask “Are you sure?” makes me a little sad, but it always brightens our day as well as theirs.
A small moment of kindness will always leave a pocketful of happiness.
My wife and I are both musicians and performers. She was going up to the stage to do what you did, which is to thank the performers for their wonderful music and make other comments, when someone said oh, you don’t need to do that, musicians know they’re good.
Well, my eyebrows just went up even thinking about that comment. I don’t think it’s just about them, knowing that they’re good, because all artist perform because they love to perform, but I think it’s simply acknowledging that something was special to you to the person that made that thing that was special. and like you said, this was a simple act and had a big impact. I appreciate your comment and thank you so much.
Lovely story. I've always wanted to visit Glasgow.
I choose to be hopeful about Substack, because of people like you, Mike. I joined to get a better sense of community, rather than clicks, likes, shares, and a never ending stream of the Instagram algorithm (although, we all want to be liked!).
I'd rather have 20 dedicated readers than 200 people who click, look at my post for 2 seconds, and then go on their way.
The small amount of cynicism always rises to the top, because the loudest voice is always heard first and, unfortunately, the loudest voices are always the angriest voices. But, if we just take the time to be present and look around once in a while...
Everything really is amazing, Mike.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. I like Substack‘s because people read and engage. The news is so much hype and interpretation by media pundits. it’s somewhat pretty repugnant.
I have a newsfeed that allows people to comment and basically it could be something close a means to let people do primal screams or basically just disc one another with very vulgar terms. I’m constantly amazed at how boldly people can attack people they don’t know with so little information.
But that’s not what happens here and that’s why I’m here and rarely on that news service.
I suppose that’s where the hope is for me. I know there’s good people out there and I know if you engage people correctly and listen, you can find the basic goodness. But it takes patience and a willingness to listen.
Thank you for this thread, Mike! It reminds me of a Bertolt Brecht quote I had up in my house for years and years: "Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it." And also this one by Toni Morrison: "This is precisely the time when artists go to work. There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal."
I am weirdly hopeful (it's only weird because I can't remember the last time I was hopeful around electoral politics) about the upcoming presidential election in the United States. Not because it will fix everything, but because I think it might succeed in giving fascism a kick in the teeth while also supercharging folks' imaginations for what is possible. Our collective political imaginations have been asleep for way, way too long.
This also makes me think of the great Stephen King quote from ON WRITING: "Put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support-system for art. It's the other way around."
They may not cure everything but images of piglets and belly laughs go a long way to defusing anger and fear so we can have actual conversations with each other.
I'm not finding much fascism in the upcoming political election. The now-departing gentleman did deliver incredibly insensitive encouragement at a recent rally to engage in physical violence, which was just vile, on his part.
Roy, I would encourage you to read up on Project 2025. Despite Donald Trump’s attempts to distance himself from it, that’s the playbook if he’s elected. It’s straight up fascist Christian Nationalism.
Yawn.
What happened to the kindness you were talking about in another comment, Roy? I understand that you disagree, but can't you do it in a respectful way?
Deceitfully linking Donald Trump with Project 2025 is non-factual. My response to Asha was as non-committal as it is possible for me to be in situations such as that.
It appears you have no issue with the oxymoronic phrase "fascist Christian Nationalism," so you've no place lecturing me if you condone language such as that.
Okay, bye, Roy.
"It [hope] is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency." I really needed this imagery, thank you for sharing Rebecca Solnit's inspiring words. I've felt devoid of hope and axe's the last couple of years as I navigate live without my husband. 54 is a weird age to become. a widow. I'm not "old" but not so young either. My son is 12 now, and I'm 57. Starting over, creating a new life after 50 isn't easy, but I suppose it never is after your spouse, your best friend, and your child's father dies. Hope and grief can, and do live side by side.
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I believe that when we teach ourselves to be more aware of how insignificant we are, as individuals compared to the whole population on Earth, and as a form of life in a tiny blue insignificant planet compared to what's out there in the universe, there is a form of peace that comes with that, letting us know that everything will be fine. Even if we manage to destroy Earth, to the universe, nothing happened. To me, it makes me focus on what I can control and change. So instead of worrying about world and national events I can't control, I get myself involved in neighborhood activities, help charities, and do good deeds to people when possible. This is my way of improving the world and as a consequence the world around me is better than the world we see on the news. I tell my wife and daughter all the time to "leave everything better than it was, when possible, if not, at least don't leave things (and people) worse than they were". Easier said than done, but it's my motto. I also have this personal motto "prepare for the worst, expect the best, face whatever comes in your direction". Accepting that life has ups and downs, yet preparing yourself even for "black swan events", also helps me going through life's turbulences.
I'm choosing to be hopeful that pursuing a PhD at age 50+ is not a massive waste of time and money. Most of the time I believe this, but there are those times, like when you're lying awake at 2am while the rest of the world sleeps and you know that you're all alone and all wrong and nothing will ever be good and right... thankfully, I don't have many of those times. Because the truth is, I've learned so much and developed into a better person as a direct result of the years I've spent in grad school (while continuing to work full-time in a demanding field) since I was age 45+. It's hard to value those things in hours or dollars.
Thank you for this!
This is encouraging and hopeful to me! I'm 43 now, and contemplating returning to school for an advanced degree in a few years, when I'll only have two kids still in high school. Thanks for sharing.
I'm so glad to hear that! I was 44 when I started my MS degree, and I defended my thesis a week before my 48th birthday. :) I started this PhD program in February 2023, and I'll be 54-55 when I finish. And yes, this has been taking two classes per term while working full time. So yes, you can 100% do it!!
It's not a waste, Heather, not least because it sounds like you're developing wisdom, along with knowledge.
This active sense of hope reminds me of a passage that really struck me in reading Let This Radicalize You by Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba.
It's quoting Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone:
"Active Hope is a practice. Like tai chi or gardening, it is something we do rather than have. It is a process we can apply to any situation, and it involves three key steps. First, we take a clear view of reality; second, we identify what we hope for in terms of the direction we’d like things to move in or the values we’d like to see expressed; and third, we take steps to move ourselves or our situation in that direction. Since Active Hope doesn’t require our optimism, we can apply it even in areas where we feel hopeless. The guiding impetus is intention; we choose what we aim to bring about, act for, or express. Rather than weighing our chances and proceeding only when we feel hopeful, we focus on our intention and let it be our guide."
Especially when dealing with chronic illness and late-diagnosed neurodivergence - all of a sudden all those things you were fighting yourself in your head about can become beneficial intentions, not personality flaws; you can finally see the value of your supposed 'weakness' as the strength you can make it into and how it can help others.
Even when the situation feels hopeless, you absolutely can have hope!
I choose to believe there is better and best around me and that it will win out. Every day my dog and I walk in the Outdoors creates bountiful hope. Nature is resilient so why can't we be? Every moment I spend with family and friends is filled with hope.
Every time a wave breaks on the beach, it casts hope towards us and pulls hopelessness away. It's the way I choose to live...
Lovely words and it would be great if it was as simple as that.
Unfortunately if we do not care about our personal safety and security something will give and hopefully I do NOT want these continued assaults, brutal knife attacks and murders.
We need to address root causes and stop being weak and overly forgiving. Be honest and speak about these difficult issues. And labelling of people as far right, thugs, racists and fascists is just not right, fair or proportionate.
I am sure we all want to go back to listening to the birds sing and hearing the V formation of Geese overhead, seeing the sunset and enjoying our beautiful countryside.
Hey I liked your post and love some of the things you like too. Have a great summer and take care.
I live in Australia, have been an environmental protester appearing at tribunal hearings to save coastal beaches and estuaries, having talked on radio and to the papers about the purpose.
I have walked the walk with a daughter who has been viciously assaulted by a white Englishman who had his visa cancelled and was deported back to the UK for his crime. Observe the words 'white' and 'Englishman'.
I refuse to be cynical, think humanity and compassion is a pretty good rule to follow, vote accordingly and will never give up hope.
I feel hopeful that the youth of the world will grab the future with both hands and turn the tide on fear and anger and cynicism.
I'm very optimistic about the recent (but palpable and powerful) turn from authoritarianism toward democratic rule of late. Let's keep this going, please!
I've recently acquired a new roommate; a one kilo Yorkshire terrier, and he provides tremendous inspiration to approach life with enthusiasm and energy. I am quite grateful for his playful companionship, exhausting as it is!
I'm hopeful about everything. Or I try to be. Not in a Pollyanna-ish naive way, but in a deliberate, self-reassuring way. I think without hope we may as well give up. Hope is a necessity for modern life.
I am hopeful by nature. I have had one too many glasses of wine on occasion and lashed out at those who accuse me of being a Pollyanna. "It's easy to be grim," I say, "hope is for the bold." So there! Hope on!
Hope is for the bold. Very well said Mary.
Reminds of this quote from Everything Everwhere All At Once => https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6710474/quotes/?item=qt6330822&ref_=ext_shr_lnk
Waymond Wang: You think I'm weak don't you?
CEO Waymond: [to Movie Star Evelyn] All of those years ago when we first fell in love, your father would say I was too sweet for my own good. Maybe he was right.
Waymond Wang: .
[to Verse-Jumpers]
Waymond Wang: Please! Please! Can we... can we just stop fighting?
CEO Waymond: You tell me it's a cruel world and we're all running around in circles. I know that. I've been on this earth just as many days as you.
Waymond Wang: I know you are all fighting because you are scared and confused. I'm confused too. All day, I don't know what the heck is going on. But somehow, this feels like it's all my fault.
CEO Waymond: When I choose to see the good side of things, I'm not being naive. It is strategic and necessary. It's how I've learned to survive through everything.
Waymond Wang: I don't know. The only thing I do know... is that we have to be kind. Please, be kind - especially when we don't know what's going on.
CEO Waymond: I know you see yourself as a fighter. Well, I see myself as one too. This is how I fight.
Please, be kind - especially when we don't know what's going on! 💜
That human intelligence, ingenuity and compassion is great enough to overcome both our present and future challenges...
I'm choosing to be hopeful about everything. I'm paying attention, aware of how much brokenness there is in the world--emotionally, economically, environmentally, politically, spiritually...it's a long damn list--and recognizing that without hope, we have no reason at all to keep trying. Nothing makes me angrier than feelings of powerlessness. Hope gives me back my power.
Thanks for this, Mike.
As a grandmother to two little boys 9 and 7 months old… my knees are shaking. I have stilled them somewhat by watching a new film called ‘Eating for Tomorrow’ narrated by Kate Winslett. I have been mostly vegetarian since 1986 but have found new delicious ways to act sustainably due to the info from this film! Quit eating meat as often to help our planet! Please watch it!
Love and peace to you all from North Vancouver B.C.
People are thinking about and writing about (thank you, Mike) and hoping for and dreaming about a better future. That helps me feel hopeful. We continue to evolve and improve.
A bit late to the party, but I’ll throw my hat in to the ring.
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I work in health and social care in Scotland. These are difficult times - budgets are shrinking rapidly, cuts are having to be made, and this is impacting on services for end users. These are often not people that have the option of a private provider.
For many working in this sector conditions are, at best, stagnant in a time of rising bills. Add to that the concerns many have for their families and young people moving in to the world of ‘adulting’, and the myriad of other local and global issues and it would be easy to be despondent.
However, many of the people I come in to contact with on a daily basis are working minor miracles in difficult circumstances, particularly when faced with unrealistic expectations. They are genuinely inspirational. I’m reminded of the famous phrase “Think globally, act locally”. These are people doing lots of small things on a daily basis which are all adding up and making a real difference.
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My recovery. I really needed this today. I ordered Nick's book from the library yesterday--if anyone has walked through hell, it's Cave. My little island or despair and cynicism is strewn with weeds and I can't breath. I generally choose the word "faith" over "hope." But, today, recovering from my third relapse and detox in one year, I'll take the hope axe.
“The world is worth believing in”. Love this.
I'm hopeful about humans’ ability to adapt and survive. AI, social media and its effects on mental health, and climate change are big-name topics these days that some believe are existential threats to humanity, and they all could be. But, humans are very good ad adapting (we are amazingly poor and planning ahead) so I am hopeful that these things are problems we solve and progress through into the future.
First of all - mad props for being a fan of Nick Cave. I love him and it’s always nice to see someone mention his awesomeness!
I adore the idea of hope being a lever to bend reality and find ways to help others and change the world. Hope can be in short supply when you’re dealing with complex chronic illness - and I’ve been in a flare that’s had me feeling rather down.
When I think of hope in the context Cave describes - I think of the community I’m building here. I’m very new - but the people that I’ve met and the bonds being formed give me tremendous hope. Hope for what the written word can accomplish. For what a community of like minded people can do to bring about change. For the power of language to inspire, shift viewpoints and change hearts and minds.
I’m genuinely hopeful (and excited!) to see what comes next.
I'm choosing to be hopeful that my family will find a way to be happy together again after losing our mum a year ago
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There’s a beautiful quote by Sharon Salzburg that goes ‘Love through hope becomes faith’ and I think about it when I look at the younger generation coming up. My teenager and his friends are just great, funny, kind kids; irreverent but respectful and it gives me so much hope for and faith in the future. I think the kids are alright, more than alright in fact, and everything will be okay because of them.
I will shortly be starting my new career as a Speech and Language Therapist. It fills me with hope to see SLTs and other allied health professionals working quietly to improve people's lives, through improving communication or swallowing.
Faith - I was part of London City Mission's online prayer meeting to pray for communities impacted by the terrible racist riots in the UK. We were all kinds of different people coming together in unity and love, and it was beautiful. The work of Webber Street day centre, Southwark, next to Waterloo in providing safe space, love, care, practical support, soul care and beauty through art classes to people experiencing homelessness. Indie cinema - healthy number of really good independent films hitting the big screen and being appreciated widely. The people giving to a fund to rebuild the shamefully burnt out library at Spellow Lane, and neighbours who came to show love and care to those heinously targeted during these shameful times. Photographers on Instagram like Sam Binding, Farmer Torque, Jack Lodge and Chris Fletcher (cpf photo) who are capturing the beauty in the world and sharing it with us all =)
Thanks for sharing this, Mike. Cave certainly gave a thoughtful answer—wow!
I'm hopeful that Harris-Walz will finally vanquish Trump's reign of terror, and quite decisively! I realize I can't just "hope", though, and will do my little part to get them over the finish line.
I really appreciate this thread - its not often that any of us get the purposeful opportunity to confirm how Positive we can be as Families as Individuals and as Humans. Lives can can sometimes be very difficult - but then we rise above this mundane inanity because why should anyone just expect everything to be easy ??
Viva Humana.
This is beautiful. Thanks for sharing. I'm choosing to be hopeful about my personal journey, both personally and professionally.
I try to make a habit of giving out random compliments. If someone standing next to me in a queue (I’m British) or passes me in the street has lovely coloured dress or whatever I always compliment/mention it to them. I recently stopped the car and lowered the windows in a grocery store parking lot when i noticed a lady with the most gloriously pink hair. I’m sure people think I’m nuts…now i will view myself as a radical warrior on a mission to spread hope wherever and whenever possible. As usual thanks Mike, you brighten my day.
My whole life I felt just out of phase, just out of synch, a little off, not quite right ... I've been writing forever to make sense of existence and published my first book (There is Something I Need to Tell You, Beth Janvrin) exploring feelings and experiences after several diagnoses and learning I was neurodivergent.
My hope is, even if someone doesn't feel exactly the same, the experience will be explored in such a way so as to provide a little grace.
This isn't a personal failing, it's not your fault, you didn't mess up again, do something wrong etc. You're just a little bit different, and for a good reason, you add something only you can to this world.
Don't be ashamed of that. Your strengths are others weaknesses, not to put them down with, but to collaborate together to help each other out and create something beautiful. We need everybody!
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I am a physician who takes care of critically ill children. When I tell people what I do, I get one of two responses - that must be so hard, and that must be so wonderful. It's both, but it does give me hope. I often see people at their very best at the very worst of times. I'm blessed to get to be there.
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Cynicism trends, is now available at scale and to many feels like the safe harbour.
Cave is right, hope, as opposed to blind hope, is a warrior position.
In the same way a little cynicism, as oppossed to blind cynicism, never killed the cat.
Great thread Mike! 🙌
Hope, for me, is about choosing to believe that everything that happens in life has meaning. That no experience is wasted, it is all growing us and moving us forwards. It's trusting that there is a path we're on, even if it's not the one our thinking mind is clutching to, and that we don't always necessarily know what is 'good' and 'bad' for us.
I hope for a world filled with more Nick Cave fans, and less sycophantic apprentices of despotic leaders. I wrote about Nick Cave in my post on Risotto Transformations yesterday, now that's an original sentence.
If you read any contemporary psychological literature on hope, it's very much an active process associated with wellbeing and other benefits. It's a motivational goal-oriented force made up of agency (a belief that I can achieve my goals) and pathways (I can generate multiple paths to achieve my goals, thus reducing the likelihood of being stumped my obstacles) Recent developments in Hope Theory explore how the surrounding systems that individuals operate within might impact their hope.
This work is being done by colleagues here in Australia. Nick Cave is also Australian. Maybe we're a hopeful nation? 😉
Hope is a verb, but it means nothing without action. I’m hopeful that there are more of us who care to preserve our democracy, than those that want to burn it all down. When we win in November, we’ll climb out of the ashes of despair with a renewed sense of purpose and community.
I have to believe that, think it and act on it to maintain my hope.
HOPE > OUTRAGE(S)💥💙
I believe in the expression “the truth shall set you free.” I’m hopeful these days because millions of people now see the truth of what is, and has been, going on in Palestine. For so many years that has not been the case. But at what a price that truth has exacted!
It's such a lovely conversation. I'm glad that it's getting so much play and reaching so many people!
You, my friend, are the kind of person who might have rekindled hope for people like cave in midst of their darkest despair. 💜🔥
I am hopeful as my kid begins high school and I have begun an MFA in CNF. I'm hopeful that everyone keeps climate and Earth and human rights as a top priority whenever they vote. I am hopeful things will settle better after moving two years ago. I'm hoping to see my nonagenarian parents again soon. I hope people can allow Hope to fill their hearts like a balloon.
There were years in my life I gave up on hope and they were the darkest of my life. Hope is not passive. When I opened my heart and mind to it again, it changed my life and it's opened more doors and windows for me personally. I hang onto it closely these days. Definitely like a warrior's shield.
This made me cry...but a good cry.
Wage Peace
Wage peace with your breath.
Breathe in firemen and rubble,
breathe out whole buildings and flocks of red wing blackbirds.
Breathe in terrorists
and breathe out sleeping children and freshly mown fields.
Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees.
Breathe in the fallen and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.
Wage peace with your listening: hearing sirens, pray loud.
Remember your tools: flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.
Make soup.
Play music, memorize the words for thank you in three languages.
Learn to knit, and make a hat.
Think of chaos as dancing raspberries,
imagine grief
as the outbreath of beauty
or the gesture of fish.
Swim for the other side.
Wage peace.
Never has the world seemed so fresh and precious:
Have a cup of tea and rejoice.
Act as if armistice has already arrived.
Celebrate today.
Judyth Hill ~ September 11, 2001
This is timely for me Mike. This weekend I attended The Medicine Festival near Reading and it filled me with hope and optimism. The joy, kindness, creativity and ideas emanating was enough to soften the most hardened of cynics. There is a new movement brewing, one that is moving towards hope and joy and ok, so they may dabble in the occasional psychedelic, but whatever it takes baby!
There are so many more people working together across the globe to make this world a better place. Far more than we can ever imagine. The endless news cycle of death and danger and loss doesn't talk about it much: but just because it's not 'breaking news'-worthy doesn't mean it's not true. I'm hopeful for us.
Nick Cave's The Red Hand Files have been a source of true nourishment when living in "a world of broken poetry." I just wanted to post here, it is incredibly soulful and Good in every way:
https://www.theredhandfiles.com/
Thanks for this thread, and the idea of hope as a deliberate action (like Massive Attack said, "love, love, is a verb, love is a doing word" and i thunk it applies to hope as well) and thanks to all the commenters for sharing!
For me as a teacher, the beginning of the school year (our district goes back to work tomorrow) is always a season of renewed hope. Hope that I/we can do better, that I can connect with the students and share the wonder of chemistry, that this cohort will be engaged in learning, that I will grade faster and lecture less, that my students will do well on their exams but more importantly feel like they learned something interesting, that my colleagues and I will continue to support each other, that everyone stays safe and healthy. I could go on. And every year has a different set of challenges, but also a different set of benefits. I don't have summers "off" in that I don't get paid for 2 months and I still end up in the school building 10-20 days taking care of some of the infrastructure that we don't have time for during the school year (chemical inventory, rearranging cabinets, sorting and filing, etc). But I do appreciate the time away from the regular grind, time to reflect and repurpose, and to come back with renewed hope.
That Truth, Justice, and the American Way might just survive the November election, and that America might have another 250 years ahead of us.
I was born with an innate sense of hope that I wish I could give away. It isn’t easy exactly, I have to push hard sometimes to stick to it, but I usually feel like I can get through things and that people will try to do right. Even now, during a sad week for me and a trying time, I feel this place of understanding inside me that things will get better. That my friends and family will still love each other and that we will find smiles to return every day. If only I could bottle it up and share. I hope lots of people read this and feel better.
From that photo, Nick Cave is looking very respectable these days!
That’s good to get those positive thoughts from him.
When Emily Dickinson said hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, she didn't mention the part where it has a sharp little beak and will peck, peck, peck at your insides. To move you forward. To keep you from lethargic inaction. To disallow you from despair. Despair is more tempting because it lets you rest (even if where you're resting is a dark place). Sometimes you're so exhausted by trying that rest of any kind is the most appealing thing you can think of. Hope doesn't let you stay there even when you kind of really want to.
I'm raising four teenagers alone and I have all kinds of wild hope for them and because of them. They don't see the same taboos and uncrossable lines that I grew up with. They don't put up with bullsh*t. They ask piercing questions. They offer respect but they also expect it. They are kind and they have boundaries. They have a lot to learn (as we all did, and still do), but they are starting out in life with so many more tools and so much more understanding in hand, things I feel like I just started to grasp in my early 30s. And yes, they're my kids so I'm a little biased but it's not just my kids -- their friends, their peers too. I have a lot of hope for what they can and will change just by living their lives.