Wonderful piece, Chris that I’ve bookmarked to return to when I need hope or feel despair. Also love the acronym for HOPE. I am not familiar with “The Comfort Book” but will check it out.
Thank you Chris for sharing your thoughts and your journey with us. I frequently need to be reminded about my life around me and how blessed I am. Your journey is shared by many. Peace my friend😘.
Sincere thank you. I've been following your writing for a while and finally managed to put 'pen to paper' to say how much comfort, hope :), smiles your pieces give, and they really have shone a light when needed most. You manage to articulate in such a real and authenticate way and I love your raw honesty. Very brave Chris and encouraging!
I always need a little self-talk in this area, so I often use the phrase, “We lose nothing by being hopeful.” It’s come in a handy more than a few times, and especially these last couple of months. I suspect I’ll be using it a lot in the future. Thanks for this piece, Chris. Really inspiring!
Though I don’t like to admit it (especially so publicly) your words and revelations are part of my personal life journey as well. I sincerely empathize.
Hope, I discovered, is an inherent expression of one’s life force. It exists because we exist.
Our own life force, when flickering like a pilot light, reminds us of its presence when we are weighted, worn and wary to the bone, eaten by life’s heavy demand.
It took unrelenting courage for me to champion myself, again and again.
The most humbling revelation was to realize, over many years, how little understanding I had of what self-care required of me.
The courage to change, to grow, to redefine myself in countless ways… was the calling the illness offered.
An aging body continues, as well, to point us toward life enhancing choices.
Thank you for your article. Your honesty and reflections are a sacred mirror.
Excellent post Chris, I can see the comment below mine by Tracy mentions that she has bookmarked it for when she needs it, I think that's a really good idea so I'm going to do the same, it was interesting to read it now, but last week, I could have really "used" it, that's the trouble sometimes, knowing a tool or strategy exists but not having found it yet.
Thanks for writing this and I hope that one day, you become Iron Man, but then don't need to wear the suit.
Excellent post Chris, I found myself relating to much of what you said. Especially with your inner voice feasting on despair, I wrote about that little voice in our heads in my memoir as I had a similar experience with my rare disease that I battled/still battle to this day. Its true that its a fluctuating battle between good days and bad but what I have found funny over the years is the people I have met who have experienced similar circumstances as myself with rare diseases have similar ways of thinking. Cheers Chris, I'm happy to have discovered your page. Well wishes to you moving forward.
Thank you I appreciate that! If you want I can gift an e-book in exchange for a book review down the line at your own leisure. Also, if you need any help or have questions with your book let me know, I'd love to help if possible. I'll make sure to keep an eye out for yours upon release. Do you have a working title?
I appreciate that, Michael! I actually just picked it up a few minutes ago and hope to start reading it this weekend. Did you self-publish? If so, how was the process? I'm going the self-publishing route.
My working title is some derivation of "How to Make It Through Dark Days".
You're welcome and thank you as well for the support, I appreciate that! I hybrid published which meant that I had a team of editors and designers for my book which was professional help but I crowdsourced for the costs of the book. I sold about 150 pre sale copies and raised 6k in donations/preorder sales to cover the costs of a hardcover book. But obviously if you had the money to do that yourself, you could just write a check. I was fresh out of college and broke lol, so I needed to crowdsource.
That's a good title for a book with your story! If it helps what I used to help determine my name was making it a metaphor of some sort. I tried to incorporate that a lot in the book in general.
That was something the publisher took care of for me! They paired me with the person they thought would be best fit for what I was going for. I must say, she was great! Love my editor as we still have a relationship today.
thanks for sharing your vulnerability, Chris. i can see myself using most of the strategies you used to find hope, and reflecting on my own struggles now to realise there is less reason to despair.💘
Great article! There’s a raw honesty in the way you acknowledge despair, not as something to be dismissed, but as a necessary contrast that makes hope meaningful. The reflections you share are not just intellectual musings but lived truths, shaped by experience and resilience.
What resonates most is the idea that hope is not a passive feeling - it’s a choice, a quiet defiance against despair. It doesn’t erase pain or guarantee better days, but it insists on possibility. And in that, there is power. Your words remind us that even when life feels unmovable, hope finds a way - sometimes through faith, sometimes through laughter, sometimes simply by waking up to another sunrise. It is, as you so beautifully put it, stubborn. And that stubbornness is what keeps us moving forward.
Saving this! Absolutely brilliant post, Chris — full of useful, actionable, inspiring strategies for anyone struggling to find hope in a time of despair (which is all of us at some point, right?)
Chris, this piece was beautiful to read. What you don't realize is that you are the light in the darkness for other people, You are the person that your friends want to pick up the phone and speak to when they lose hope, and you are the person others to turn to when they dispair of their own lives.
And I can't wait to see you taking over the world in your exoskeleton.
Wonderful piece, Chris that I’ve bookmarked to return to when I need hope or feel despair. Also love the acronym for HOPE. I am not familiar with “The Comfort Book” but will check it out.
I think you'll love it Tracy! It's a quick read but super uplifting, in an authentic way.
The HOPE acronym came to me on a whim but I googled it and others thought of it first so I won't take (all) the credit 😂
Chris, This piece is a treasure trove to return to again and again when we need encouragement. Thank you!
Thanks Sandra! 🙏
Thank you Chris for sharing your thoughts and your journey with us. I frequently need to be reminded about my life around me and how blessed I am. Your journey is shared by many. Peace my friend😘.
Aw, thanks Maggie! 🙏
Sincere thank you. I've been following your writing for a while and finally managed to put 'pen to paper' to say how much comfort, hope :), smiles your pieces give, and they really have shone a light when needed most. You manage to articulate in such a real and authenticate way and I love your raw honesty. Very brave Chris and encouraging!
Thank you so much Mandy! 🙏 I really appreciate it. Glad I can help in some small way.
I always need a little self-talk in this area, so I often use the phrase, “We lose nothing by being hopeful.” It’s come in a handy more than a few times, and especially these last couple of months. I suspect I’ll be using it a lot in the future. Thanks for this piece, Chris. Really inspiring!
Thanks Tim! 🙏 I love that phrase.
Love the 16 ways you find hope. I’ve used many of those ways myself. And thanks for the book rec - “The Comfort Book” is one I’m not familiar with.
Thanks Wendi! 🙏 I think you'll love The Comfort Book.
Though I don’t like to admit it (especially so publicly) your words and revelations are part of my personal life journey as well. I sincerely empathize.
Hope, I discovered, is an inherent expression of one’s life force. It exists because we exist.
Our own life force, when flickering like a pilot light, reminds us of its presence when we are weighted, worn and wary to the bone, eaten by life’s heavy demand.
It took unrelenting courage for me to champion myself, again and again.
The most humbling revelation was to realize, over many years, how little understanding I had of what self-care required of me.
The courage to change, to grow, to redefine myself in countless ways… was the calling the illness offered.
An aging body continues, as well, to point us toward life enhancing choices.
Thank you for your article. Your honesty and reflections are a sacred mirror.
Thanks Cat! I really appreciate your comment 🙏
Excellent thoughts. I look forward to sharing them in my Sunday Night Check-In post!
Thanks John!
So beautiful. I resonate with all of it!
Thanks Moriah! 🙏
i "hope" you continue sharing your stories with us. you do a great job of being vulnerable without seeking pity.
Thanks Arman! 🙏
Excellent post Chris, I can see the comment below mine by Tracy mentions that she has bookmarked it for when she needs it, I think that's a really good idea so I'm going to do the same, it was interesting to read it now, but last week, I could have really "used" it, that's the trouble sometimes, knowing a tool or strategy exists but not having found it yet.
Thanks for writing this and I hope that one day, you become Iron Man, but then don't need to wear the suit.
Thanks Mark!
Excellent post Chris, I found myself relating to much of what you said. Especially with your inner voice feasting on despair, I wrote about that little voice in our heads in my memoir as I had a similar experience with my rare disease that I battled/still battle to this day. Its true that its a fluctuating battle between good days and bad but what I have found funny over the years is the people I have met who have experienced similar circumstances as myself with rare diseases have similar ways of thinking. Cheers Chris, I'm happy to have discovered your page. Well wishes to you moving forward.
Nice to meet you Michael and thanks for the comment!
So awesome to hear you wrote a memoir! I'll check it out. I'm working on a book now as we speak.
Nice to meet you as well and you're welcome!
Thank you I appreciate that! If you want I can gift an e-book in exchange for a book review down the line at your own leisure. Also, if you need any help or have questions with your book let me know, I'd love to help if possible. I'll make sure to keep an eye out for yours upon release. Do you have a working title?
I appreciate that, Michael! I actually just picked it up a few minutes ago and hope to start reading it this weekend. Did you self-publish? If so, how was the process? I'm going the self-publishing route.
My working title is some derivation of "How to Make It Through Dark Days".
You're welcome and thank you as well for the support, I appreciate that! I hybrid published which meant that I had a team of editors and designers for my book which was professional help but I crowdsourced for the costs of the book. I sold about 150 pre sale copies and raised 6k in donations/preorder sales to cover the costs of a hardcover book. But obviously if you had the money to do that yourself, you could just write a check. I was fresh out of college and broke lol, so I needed to crowdsource.
That's a good title for a book with your story! If it helps what I used to help determine my name was making it a metaphor of some sort. I tried to incorporate that a lot in the book in general.
Oh interesting! How did you find the editors/designers?
That was something the publisher took care of for me! They paired me with the person they thought would be best fit for what I was going for. I must say, she was great! Love my editor as we still have a relationship today.
thanks for sharing your vulnerability, Chris. i can see myself using most of the strategies you used to find hope, and reflecting on my own struggles now to realise there is less reason to despair.💘
Thank you Anna!
Great article! There’s a raw honesty in the way you acknowledge despair, not as something to be dismissed, but as a necessary contrast that makes hope meaningful. The reflections you share are not just intellectual musings but lived truths, shaped by experience and resilience.
What resonates most is the idea that hope is not a passive feeling - it’s a choice, a quiet defiance against despair. It doesn’t erase pain or guarantee better days, but it insists on possibility. And in that, there is power. Your words remind us that even when life feels unmovable, hope finds a way - sometimes through faith, sometimes through laughter, sometimes simply by waking up to another sunrise. It is, as you so beautifully put it, stubborn. And that stubbornness is what keeps us moving forward.
Thanks Simon! 🙏
Saving this! Absolutely brilliant post, Chris — full of useful, actionable, inspiring strategies for anyone struggling to find hope in a time of despair (which is all of us at some point, right?)
Thanks Ruhie! 😀
Chris, this piece was beautiful to read. What you don't realize is that you are the light in the darkness for other people, You are the person that your friends want to pick up the phone and speak to when they lose hope, and you are the person others to turn to when they dispair of their own lives.
And I can't wait to see you taking over the world in your exoskeleton.
You give us hope for the future.
Vivienne ❤️
Thanks so much Vivienne! This means so much to me. 🙏