Despair sounds a lot like self-pity when voiced. They are not the same, but the only thing with a chance to banish either is Will. It’s remarkable, though, how brutally despair chips away at Will. The beating never ends.
It is said by the fortunate that gratitude banishes both despair and self-pity. But forced gratitude is empty, and visceral realization of this leads to self-hatred. Felt gratitude is satisfying in the moment. But true hopelessness is a morass that, even if one is encouraged by gratitude, cannot be escaped with something so ephemeral. No ideal can be achieved without Will.
Without Will, it is impossible to continue trying, while knowing for a fact that success is unachievable, knowing for truth that the goal is unreachable, knowing for certain that the loss is assured.
So why Will? No reason, both logic and despair declare. They pummel it down to lower case. Doesn’t will, like hope, merely prolong suffering?
Of course it does. But will has more dignity. Hope victimizes in the end, while will plows through the gauntlet, understanding its own futility on the march toward, and upon reaching, inevitable failure and death.
Siege of the Spirit 