A difficult present does not possess every future.

A hard present tends to project itself forward, so that today’s difficulty feels like a description of every day to come. It is a trick of perspective rather than a fact about the future, and it is strongest exactly when things are worst. What is true now is not automatically true later.

When the present feels total, try recalling a previous period that also felt permanent and did not last. Nothing needs to be forced or brightened. Just leave room for the possibility that this is a season rather than a shape.