Help and Hope

I almost titled this piece, "Helpless and Hopeless," but then I thought:

1) Yeesh, what a turn-off.
2) People might rush over to my house to perform an intervention.
3) Sounds like the headline of the worst personal ad ever!

I wouldn't say I'm helpless and hopeless today, although I've had a fair amount of bad news to digest recently (not involving writing--except in the sense that one piece of the bad news involves a fellow writer who is also a friend, and I'll say more about the wonderful L.K. Madigan when I can be more articulate). What I want to talk about in this post is what you do when you're feeling helpless and hopeless--in any area of your life?

Writers reach this point in a professional sense quite often. Writing has a long apprenticeship and a high rejection rate, and it's easy to feel that we're getting nowhere with it. And then there is the rest of life, with its myriad disappointments and nasty tricks, its accidents and illnesses and upheavals.

Yet Pandora's box of evils had the shining jewel of hope lying at the bottom. Somehow we face the day before us, and the next day. Somehow we find the silver lining or the half-full glass or the blessing among the curses.

For me, having a network of understanding friends and family is key. Also, writing itself helps me identify my feelings, work through them, release them. Walks help, too. And, although I don't discuss it directly or overtly on this blog, my spiritual life is also a source of strength.

What (or whom) do you lean on, when you need to lean?