Motivation in Hard Times
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- Опубліковано 21 бер 2022
- In which John discusses winter, the endlessness of it all, and finding motivation in difficult days.
OH AND ALSO here's our new thing: awesomecoffeeclub.com (VERY LIMITED slots available. Don't worry if you miss out this time! We will launch properly in a few weeks.)
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oh hi. We are soft-launching a new thing today: awesomecoffeeclub.com
It's a subscription service for coffee. We deliver great coffee to you every month, and 100% of profits go to support stronger healthcare systems in impoverished communities. The coffee is sourced directly from small farmers' collectives in Colombia, with a focus on 1. paying a premium to farmers to increase pay, and 2. supporting communities that are actively working to eliminate deforestation. It's awesome coffee you can feel good about. -John
Already got mine🧡
Maybe this subscription will convince my parents to stop using nespresso! I hate all those little capsules wasted.
this is so exciting! i'm just now getting into coffee and this seems like a perfect match for my new hobby :)
I wish there was decaf. (My brain doesn’t let me have so much caffeine). But I completely understand not having it available in the beginning especially.
I just started exploring coffee as a hobby... Seems like you guys somehow know exactly when to feed my curiosities
I try to remind myself of a similar quote by Albert Camus whenever I'm struggling in life. "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer." John, you may have just shown me that love is the key to unlocking that invincible summer within oneself. Food for thought!🖖🖖
Albert Camus had a book published called Myth of Sisyphus during the German occupation of France.
Great quote! from “Retour a Tipasa” if anyone wants to read it :)
@@djoakeydoakey1076 it's true and I feel like it's important to add that The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus is a (philosophical) essay on suicide and absurdity, and I haven't finished it just yet, but there are many details in it which are helping me while I'm struggling
I also want to point out that I have almost no philosophical notions, so if anyone wants to give it a try, don't hesitate to, I don't think you need to know much about philosophy (just keep your favorite search engine nearby but no need for in depth research) to be able to give it a try
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“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
This one always helps me pull through.
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I fell asleep last night thinking of this exact quote.
I love Lord of the Rings. Such an awesome quote.
That quote has gotten me through the pandemic so far.
@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 I believe you. When Covid affected my school schedule last year, I was crying about it to my English teacher, and he brought up that exact quote, and it's always made me feel better.
Critics: Kids and teenagers don’t think or talk as complexly as they do in John Green’s books.
Alice: Hold my sippy cup.
So true.
“Spring is coming” gave me “feathers everywhere” feelings. This has brought me so much hope for the spring that is on its way, whenever it gets here.
I love that - "feathers everywhere" - what a beautiful idea.
Me too, it reminded me of the "light soaked days are coming" quote from last year around P4A time.
@@kryxena where is that from
Fall, Winter and Spring all kind of blend together for me. There are only two seasons: summer and wet.
Spring is coming reminds me of a similar line from Hadestown: “On a sunny day there was a railroad car, and a lady stepping off the train. Everybody looked and everybody saw, that spring had come again. “
John, I cannot describe HOW MUCH I NEEDED to hear this, I'm writing this in tears for I'm a high school senior that has been burnt out and have beaten up for quite a while now ..and hopelessness drenched me and I've been wet from it ever since... I really want turn it around but I found myself failing at that too.
Thank you John, thank you, for reminding me that as Emily Dickinson puts it " My now is not my forever" ...
“Hopelessness drenched me and I’ve been wet from it ever since” is such a beautiful phrase.
@@catherinecase1142 thank you for your kind words.. ☺
As someone who felt the same way exactly 2 years ago, it makes me really sad to see that you and so many others are struggling like this. Please consider taking a gap year before you move on to your next phase of life-whatever it may be. It was difficult to pull myself out of burnout, but time is the greatest healer. Would highly recommend Unjaded Jade's vlogs of her gap year if you're interested. I'm feeling and doing much better as a current college freshman, and I believe in you :)
@@madamemotarey wow, I've never thought of this before! , thank you internet stranger, to whom i owe multitudes of the thank yous to!
@@anushreenarayanan2962 Aww of course! Glad I could help! If you have any questions at all just lmk and I'd be happy to answer :)
Can we just talk about how the Brothers Green are a frickin' national treasure and must be protected at all costs?
Absolutely!
John, you'll probably never know how many people needed this today, and how many will need it in the future when winter comes again. Thank you.
I know I was scrolling through the comments and so many people said “I needed this today” including me. It’s amazing how many people he just helped
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I’m a minute in and I’m crying. This pep talk really is what I needed today and I am incredibly thankful for it.
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Same
"In the depths of winter, you feel like it will never be spring." Yup, that got me. John's ability to put into words the amorphous feelings that haunt my mind reminds me of a quote from George Orwell's 1984: "The best books, he perceived, are those that tell you what you know already."
mood
After almost two years of being stuck unable to do almost anything, due to some sort of medical problem doctors can't figure out, it's really hard to believe spring will ever come. But despite the doctors failing me, I've at least found ways to adapt and slowly heal, and it's starting to feel like things will eventually be okay.
My partner and I recently had a discussion about our core values, and I realized that what really pushes me through and what I feel defines how I lead my life is Love. Love for the people around me, both family and strangers alike, love for the things I do and learn, love for the earth and the sky and every blade of grass and pencil shred there is. I have fallen in love with the world and am overjoyed to spend my time in it. Thank you, John (and Hank!) for helping me to realize this love as well as continue to develop it - I am in your debt, and I love you.
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I worry a lot that if I publish a book, as a UA-camr, people will only think it sold because I have an audience, so your "I want to prove to the world that I *am* a good writer" really hits home, but I really do need to work on writing less out of that spite and more out of my love. Cheers John 🌻
I'll read that book! -John
@@vlogbrothers 📖♥️
Who cares if _"people will only think it sold because you had an audience."_ Heck, who cares if that is even true?
Use the advantages that you're given. _All of them._ It's hard enough to get published _with_ a UA-cam following.
The DaVinci Code sold twice the amount of books as To Kill a Mockingbird. Please use that fact to try to convince me that better written books sell more copies...
You already have two books out there that people find great. Do people say that they only do well because of your audience? If not what would switching genres have to do with it?
Hi Tim! You're a good UA-camr ~because~ you're a good writer. That came first, and no one can take that away. I've learned so much from you, and you have absolutely nothing to prove.
If that didn't help, this might cheer you up: I love your episodes about writing, but I've never seen Avatar: the Last Airbender, so a fair bit went over my head. (I actually watched your three hour movie rant and still learned something about writing). Recently, I decided it was time to take the plunge so I could get more from your videos. Thanks to you, I just started Book 3, and I'm loving it!
If hope is the thing with feathers, then love is the thing with wings.
Someone else said that, I’m sure. Was it John? I can’t remember. But it is nonetheless a true thing.
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I believe John used the quote as he reflected on Donald Trump's election.
'Hope is that thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings a tiny song of love and never stops at all.'
This video is so timely for me. I'm in the process of a very demotivating and demoralizing period in my life. I have been using the wrong fuels for so many things for so long and it's completely burned me out and I'm struggling to build up different fuel to go off of.
Solidarity and best wishes for getting through this time in your life ♥️
Yes, good luck! Wishing the best for you.
I hear this. It’s hard to realize what fuel I’ve been using, often subconsciously (shame, much?), and even when I can recognize and acknowledge that it’s not effective or healthy for me, trying to figure out how to switch my default fuel to something else is tough.
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Hope you’re doing better now!
On a sunny day, there was a railroad car
And a lady steppin’ off a train
Everybody looked and everybody saw
That spring had come again
With a love song
It's a sad song, but we sing it anyway.
DFTBA
I was looking for a Hadestown comment! Glad I found it! :)
The past months I've been in deep with depression & anxiety, clinging to any passages, songs, or videos that help get me through the day.
The final few seconds of this video sparked a hope in me that I haven't truly believed in for a long time. Thank you John
Me too. Just wanted you to know that for this moment, you're not alone.
I was literally telling my therapist yesterday that I am having to learn the difference between an unknown ending and unending. Hard times may have an unknown ending-- but they are not unending.
I’m the guy who posted on your March 1st video about my wife having just died of cancer less than 12 hours before watching that video (hanging in there, by the way), and I loved this line from today’s video:
“Love is not forged not only in the good times; it is also forged in surviving and turning around the bad times together.”
That really speaks to me right now. Many of us affected by my wife’s passing have seen love in the tremendous outpouring of support from not only one another but from complete strangers. I love especially that the strangers have no reason to feel an attachment to my family. They just have an attachment to the idea of community, an idea that when one of us is suffering, we are all suffering. Hang in there, everyone. Whatever you are going through, I am over here rooting for you, though we may never meet. I care about you.
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Thank you. Hang in there too
I know your videos resonate with a lot of people, as they should. But as someone struggling with survivor syndrome while my country is being destroyed, and being fuelled by both anger and love at the same time, this feels very personal. "Surviving and turning around the bad times together" is a perfect summary of what we Ukrainians are going through. Thank you, John.
💙💛💙💛💙💛 Maryna, i'm glad you're safe. Your fellow Ukrainians fighting for your country are also glad you're safe. You are the future of Ukraine for which they are fighting. I'm so sorry you're going through this, and that your country is going through this. -John
This is so timely. I live in Texas and *just* yesterday I was thinking how every winter I forget what it’s like to feel hot. I’m not motivated so much by resentment, but fear is a big one for me. And you’re right, it never goes away no matter how hard I work. Thank you so much for this perspective on the issue.❤️
C:
it's great to see you here! Hope you're well, from a fan
@@The_SOB_II Hi Steve, thank you!
I store up “ I’m too hot. “. For the times I’m too cold. N.E.OH Bob
My mental health has been the worst it’s been in a long time for the past week. Just a numb kind of existence that makes it hard to do anything.
What’s helped me is recently, on TikTok, you asked everyone to go on a walk with you. I dueted you and went on the walk that first day and now have watched that same video every day to do one thing, go on a stupid daily walk. It isn’t life changing or healing but it means I get one thing done a day. Thank for walking with me John.
I'm so glad you're doing that one thing for yourself with an assist from John. It is so hard to do the work of being kind and caring for ourselves when our mental health goes wonky, which is frustrating, given that those are the moments when we need it most.
So here's a little extra kindness for you today: Thank you for continuing. Thank you for going on walks. Thank you for putting food in your body and hydrating. I'm really proud of you for doing that for yourself, and for continuing even when it's hard. Keep going, and know that I'm cheering for you every step of the way. You have the strength you need to get through this. DFTBA!
@@untappedinkwell thank you!❤️❤️❤️ you’re the best! Yesterday was a amazing day. The sun came out for the first time in weeks, I cleaned my room for the first time in a while, I got to see friends and eat good food! It was finally a good day
@@moiradarling97 Yaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy!!! I am *so* glad you had a good day and thank you so much for sharing it with me! That sounds so fantastic, especially the good food and the time with friends. AND you have a clean room now!! Way to go!!! I hope your next good day comes soon.
Thank you for reminding me that our winters won't last forever. I am bedbound by chronic illness and for the past two years, due the pandemic and a weakened immune system, I have been cut off from my friends and family. I miss them and my community so much but being part of the Nerdfighter community brings me solace.
Wishing you good health and better times ahead! ♡♡
@@ladybug2267 Thank you for your kind wishes, I wish you well too
Came here only expecting a coffee announcement, was pleasantly surprised. Thanks for your loving words, John
Saving the coffee announcement for when we properly launch in a few weeks! :) -John
i guess i'll join the chorus of people who are both, time and time again, surprised and thankful for your words in these times. I teach at a local institute for remedial learning and tutoring, and my colleagues and i are worried about a lot of our kids. In fact i've just come home from class, wondering how in all that is good these children will grow up, what their world will look like, how i can help them not succumb to a seemingly unending winter.
And you are right. With compassion. With kindness. With love. The fuel that burns both bright and clean.
It reminds me of P.L.Dunbars poem "The Lesson", from 1913, which closes:
So I sang a lay for a brother's ear
In a strain to soothe his bleeding heart,
And he smiled at the sound of my voice and lyre,
Though mine was a feeble art.
But at his smile I smiled in turn,
And into my soul there came a ray:
In trying to soothe another's woes
Mine own had passed away.
Your video has, once again, made me smile and soothed my woes. I hope yours may also have passed a little. I wish you all the best.
My channel started (Mostly) because I was dumped a few months previous by a woman I loved more than 19 year old me was prepaired to love another person. I wanted to prove that I was worthy and thought if I got successful she'd think it was a mistake and reconsider. The resentment made me brave enough to put my face on camera
Today we are great friends and my relationships are much healthier, for having a better, less external validation driven view of success and love.
I relate really hard to video. When making videos these days I try to think about the people who will comment that they learned something new - Occasionally a teacher says they showed it to they're students for class, and how much I myself like learning in the research process.
Thank you
I love seeing organic conversations from Dear Hank & John become polished stories in videos, projects, even books eventually. It's a nice process to see and demonstrates your motivation idea. Compassion for a question asker coupled with love of a brother and a few tangents.
My life is in shambles, really.
This video is much needed. Thank you John. I love, no I adore the things you say. I love your podcast and it helps a lot.
Respect from Algeria ✨🎩
may your next spring be as joyful as this winter has been dark. Best wishes!
@@untappedinkwell Thank you very much, I really appreciate that ❤️❤️❤️
@@supernova3114 It's my honor.
"The way things are is simply not the way they will always be" taking this as reassurance that the Awesome Coffee Club will ship internationally in the future 😭🙏
In my experience, love feeds a soul more than anything else can. So nerdfighteria, today's self care tip is this: feed your soul. How you do that is up to you, but odds are good it will include some form of love. Love of friends, family, self, ocean, nature, pets, fellow humans, community, activities, sports--whatever fills you with that spark, spend a little bit of time with it.
And if you don't know what that is, or if it's been a long time since you felt that spark, that's okay. It might mean that you need to rest or take a break so that that spark can find its way to you. It's there. Like the spring, it will return in time.
And while I put love into everything I do here, if you didn't know: I love you nerdfighteria. DFTBA!
Hey John, just wanted to say thank you for helping me get through high school.
That was 10 years ago. Today, I’m in my final semester of my masters and I’m so comforted to have these videos in all the hard times since.
Way to go!! That's so amazing!
Yes LOVE! Bring on the cheese, man, because I'm here for it. I've been very grateful for this community over the past few years because it makes me feel less isolated, but also because everyone here is kind and loving. I love all y'all and hope that your metaphorical spring comes sooner than you think.
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The saddest part is that when I’m happy, I know it’s fleeting and get sad, but when I’m sad, never do I think “yay, I’ll be happy soon.” Crazy that happiness feels so temporary but sadness feels infinite.
Thank you for this. My dad unexpectedly passed in early November and the holidays/winter has been very hard for me. This grief has been disorienting and the love and patience you talk about is what has gotten me through. It is so important to remember that the seasons will continue to change and that I am not alone in feeling such heavy things. Thank you as always for this community and putting into words what I cannot.
In nerdfighteria, we have a saying when a loved one passes away. If I may: May you dad Rest in Awesome. I am so glad our community has helped in such a difficult time, and I hope you get to carry that into spring. Best wishes.
I'm sorry, JenBo. You are most certainly not alone in feeling this way. I also lost my father unexpectedly a few months ago. It just sucks. *Hugs*
I think this might be my first tattoo. "Love is the fuel that burns both bright and clean." -John Green
My wife complained yesterday, "winter will never end." It's late March, last night was ten below and there's still all the snow that fell this entire winter on the ground. Living in an extreme environment where the weather goes from 90 in the summer to 60 or 70 below in winter does one thing. Creates a lot of appreciation for life. When it's too hot you appreciate winter. When it's winter, you appreciate summer far more than others. I don't see it as "the winter will never be over," but wow, the light is more than twelve hours a day now. Can go without bunny boots and heavy gloves and hats. Time to start getting things ready for when the snow goes away.
If one ever gets down and thinks they have it rough, go to a center for the disabled or an old folks home and thank "whoever" you ain't suffering what they suffer through and your life isn't that hard.
God, I needed this, been worried about college entrances and future career choices. I find your books and videos very comforting amidst all this confusion :)
I wish you the best luck with that! -from a fellow high school senior who's going through Precisely the same thing...
I remember being in the exact same shoes as you guys an year ago..
Keep working guys, and trust me, spring is closer than you think :D
Remember that, like a squirrel in the middle of a road thinking about changing Daylight Savings Time, the correct decision is any decision.
As someone who was also in this place last year with the pandemic making everything worse, I know it's hard but I assure you that spring WILL come. Good luck y'all!
John you made me both smile and cry in a video three and a half minutes long and I'm sure I'm not alone in the experience. Thank you for this earnest and hopeful pep-talk that I know I'll revisit so many more times in the future when it feels like winter and it'd make me feel the same way, always: that I'm seen and understood.
I agree that knowing others have worse troubles does not really help with my own, but reading these comments reminds me that, whilst we are apart in our troubles, we are all together in having to battle them and there's something comforting in that.
"Love is...forged in surviving and turning around the bad times together. ❤ " 😭
John, I am from Pakistan. I want you to know that your message has been heard thousands of miles away!
John this was the perfect video for the perfect day. I had a breakdown in my car after work (I'm a HS counselor that's doing both my job and the MS counselor's job until the new one starts in a month). I really needed this video today. I also hope you got a hug at the end of that video because you sounded like you were getting choked up. It's okay, John! We'll get through it.
Hard work. Thanks for doing it. -John
spring is coming, you may be pretty sure about that. for the darker times being, give the world - including yourself - the love it deserves, because it has given you so much already. and it will continue doing so for much more time, if we're lucky
Every year around this time I have a constant loop of “Here Comes the Sun” playing in my head.
Thank you for this. I just had to say goodbye to my 10 year old velocikeet yesterday. Had her 9 years. At first she was fearful and traumatized from previous owner, then tolerant of me at best, to one year of her deciding I was awesome and she couldn't wait for me to hang with her. She had abdominal swelling that was making it harder and harder for her to breathe, and I knew it was time. She was a smart, feisty little force of nature, and I am missing her terribly. I try to remind myself of the saying "where there is great grief, there is great love".
I love these short videos, both you and Hank pack so much into them.
That line of "But spring is coming" reminds me of a Good Friday sermon I heard about. As it was told to me in another sermon, the preacher was preaching in the style of African-American Baptist and he had his refrain in his sermon, "Today is Friday, but Sunday's a comin'." By the end of his sermon, the congregation was jumping up and shouting back "but Sunday's a comin'" when ever he started the line. This would be classified as a much better performance compared to guy who preceded him who had preached in the much more calm and dreary "White Intellectual" style.
I love this! I'm such a sucker for Good Friday services--the good ones exude a hope we'd ought to embrace all year
Winter is coming.
white intellectual style 💀
"Spring is coming" is just as universally true as the more famous words "winter is coming". In all circumstances, "this too shall pass".
I do love that quote "just because outher people have worst problems than you doesn't make your problems any less real"
one of my very favorite quotes from Vincent Van Gogh is about this. I love too how he writes that "...even without our permission, there comes at last an end to the bitter frost," seasons change and so do we, and we can get through this with time and patience and love
that's such a beautiful quote, thank you for sharing!!❤️
Thank you for this video John. My friend passed away last night and it’s been a rough morning sorting through the grief. This helped to lift my spirits 💕 rest peacefully Annette
Someone once said to me "when you're at a red light it feels like it will never turn green, when the light is green you hurry to catch it as if it could turn red (or yellow) any second." But of course both are just two sides of the same intersection. While you're waiting ages for the light to turn green, someone else is racing to catch a green light. Good times seem fleeting, bad times seem to last forever.
I really really needed this today- my dad is dying of terminal cancer and it feels like it’s going to be winter forever and I’ll never be happy again. This video was like handwarmers in my pockets, it doesn’t change the cold around me but it has helped make it a little bit easier to deal with.
Stop being so nice and sincere when I'm at work. It's not socially acceptable to cry in an office!
Last night, I rewatched old videos on this channel for a pep talk.
Even though my favorite pep talk was you talking about distractions and how you find solutions in moments of silence, this pep talk might beat that one.
Rage and resentment can start the fire, but love keeps it glowing.
P.S. I don't know when you recorded this, but it's now spring! Celebrate, Alice!
John is so quotable, he should really think about writing books. Hank does it, how hard can it be?
A+++ comment. :) -John
Somehow the most comforting part of this was John stating that he has no idea what kind of problems I'm dealing with, except that they're real. I think maybe I just needed the blunt honesty. And actually, it's nice that we can not know together, because I really don't understand a lot of what I'm dealing with right now. Not knowing together may not actually be super productive, but it's strangely encouraging and validating.
Dealt with a pretty bad panic attack last weekend and hearing that Spring is coming moved me so deeply. Thank you so much for this.
This reminds me of that Mountain Goats lyric "but the things we do for love are gonna come back to you one by one"
"Life improves slowly and goes wrong fast, and only pain is clearly visible." A quote by Edward Teller that helps remind me that just because things seem bad it does not mean that things aren't actively getting better.
I have been through some metaphorical winters that emerged into metaphorical springs and so now whenever I find myself in winter I tell myself that even though the cold is all I can think about I have experienced spring coming when I though it never would before. It makes the dark times a little easier to endure.
“Those in power can kill one, two, or three roses, but they will never be able to stop the coming of spring” - Lula da Silva.
One of my favorite quotes from Michael Xavier "I believe in the power of writing like most believe in the power of prayer."
I got this recommended on September 21st (first day of spring). UA-cam is doing its job.
I've condensed this into a solid question for myself: "Why are you so afraid of going slow with love, with a fuel that generously burns warmer and deeper and cleaner, instead of one that goes loud and alone and fast by burning dirtier and brighter?" I love that life has seasons. I love what togetherness seeds.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who noticed john tearing up at the end of the video!? Thanks John, i was so pent up to shed some tears and you helped me up, Thank you so much
I am reminded of that Heinrich Heine poem, which starts:
Herz, mein Herz, sei nicht beklommen,
Und ertrage dein Geschick,
Neuer Frühling gibt zurück,
Was der Winter dir genommen.
Which has many translations, but here's the one I like:
Heart, my heart.
Do not be anxious and bear the burden of your fate*.
Spring will give back what Winter has taken away.
*Said, I feel, in a tone of: "because I believe you are capable."
Your story of being fueled by anger and fear reminds me a lot of Prince Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender. We see him change the reasons for his firebending from anger and fear, and it makes him not only a better person, but also a better firebender. You are an inspiration John! Keep up the great work!
One of my favorite song lines is “even if winter is long, it’s unlikely to last forever” (in the original: «даже если зима будет долгой, едва ли она будет вечной»)
"Even if you are not ready for day, it cannot always be night" - Gwendolyn Brooks
One of my favorite lines from Tick Tick Boom:
Fear or love baby, don’t say the answer, actions speak louder than words.
Sometimes, all times are bad times. I’ve needed this for a while, thank you.
Thank you.
This is me sitting in my empty classroom, scarfing my lunch and trying not to think about the absolute nightmares that are my students' lives (how can I expect them to care about my class when their family feels like it's falling apart), and I found this video. That last line made me want to cry.
I think I want to share this whole video with all of my classes.
I have recently found myself surrounded with despair and worry around my personal life. Listening to this gave me faith that perhaps not all is as bad as it seems, that faith is not actually fruitless despite how meager the future may seem. I could really use a hug right now. But this helped.
Your daughter’s summer and winter quote remains one of the wisest things I have heard
Very relatable video. My drive to graduate on time was fueled by toxic emotions, and while it was extremely (if terrifyingly) effective, I knew that once I got into a professional position, I would have to be fueled by love, or else the toxicity would eat me from the inside out.
It will be spring again.
this is very needed after getting rejected by your alma mater Kenyon yesterday, good things are coming
“Spring is coming.” Has been my mantra for the past two months as I’ve been dealing with a really deep depression. I put it on my wall so it would be the first thing I saw every morning before the dark thoughts could get in. I was taking a walk in early January feeling like I was already dead inside and I saw a tree and was just reminded that despite how dead that tree looks spring will come and it will be green again and bear fruit again and it gave me hope for the first time in months. “Spring is coming.” has kept me from some bad choices the past few months. I love that you ended this video with that beautiful and hopeful truth.
"all we need is love ...love is all we need"
I have the last midterm of my degree in half an hour. Just remembering that spring is coming is a great help
I had a really, really bad day today that was full of fear and anger and heartache, and then finally sleep. Everything you just said cut right into my core and made me so grateful to live in a world where people are able to express their thoughts in a succinct and thoughtful enough way to impact others for the better.
I've said before in difficult times that things were turning black around the edges, and lately that darkness is ebbing more quickly into every aspect of my life. Through that, however, there are still things that shine and bring peace, and this is one of them.
Thank you. Thank you.
The second you said “But spring is coming” the clouds in the sky in Copenhagen shifted and illuminated my whole living in warm sunshine. It was pretty magical.
Through the long winter I just kept thinking of those lyrics from Hadestown ‘Spring will come again’. I am here at the brink of spring. And the truth is as evident in the world as it is in this beautiful video. Thank you for the years of giving voice to emotions.
Ughhh I'm about to rewatch this a few times while I wash my face and get ready for the day. It is a very busy week in my last semester of my undergrad degree, and my senior recital is also coming up in 2 weeks. My energy and my motivation are fading, and my stress and anxiety are growing, and I'm really trying to keep going. This morning has been a rough one.
Wow! That is so much to be navigating. The good news is: you are awesome, and capable, even when things are stressful and hard. I know you have the ability to keep going, and it is okay to take care of yourself during your final semester. Stay hydrated, rest when you need to, and remember that you have done semesters of undergrad before--so you absolutely can do it again. DFTBA!
@@untappedinkwell thank you for your kindness, it’s been really overwhelming and your comment means a lot
@@autumnbrookesings It's my honor. You've got this!
“Love is the fuel that burns both bright and clean.”
I’ll remember that. Thank you!
The Winds of Winter blow, but we have a Dream of Spring
Thanks for this today John. It certainly has been a long winter. I'm thankful for the coming spring, and for both of you. DFTBA.
"When I was a young man, I had liberty, but I did not see it. I had time, but I did not know it. and I had love, but I did not feel it. Many decades would pass before I understood the meaning of all three. And now, in the twilight of my life, this understanding has passed into contentment. Love, liberty, and time - once so disposable are the fuels that drive me forward. And love most especially my dear.. For you, our children, our brothers and sisters, and for the vast and wonderful world that gave us life and keeps us guessing!"
That's why I like and observe the Pagan Wheel of the Year. It reminds you that even in the depths of winter, spring will come again as the wheel turns.
Winter is long especially when you have a newborn and a toddler and you live in Minnesota. Love is the only thing that gets you through. Well, love and oreos. Lots and lots of oreos Thank you for your message.🌷
I needed this, I want to cry in my car as I eat a meatball subway, I cry due to the stress of being in respiratory school, my full time medical job, my wedding for July. I want to cry because of all the darkness in our world, the bleak future and the wanting to protect and care for my loved ones.
when john brought up the “energy through resentment, fear and hatred”, it hit somewhere i never expected because looking back, that’s all the energy that i’ve been using to keep on going. i’ve never been known to be an angry or hotheaded person, but all that fear and hatred has been building for a while and for some time that’s been my main source of motivation. i never understood love, and may never truly understand it in the future. and all i can say is, indeed hatred is a strong energy, but it’s very self destructive. when that fire has been put out, i feel hollow, like i find myself wondering if any of this is worth it, why even bother or try. i’ve just finished high school and the step forward to adulthood is... frightening to say the least, and i’m not sure if i’m ready for it. but when push comes to shove, we just gotta accept the reality don’t we? it’s been winter, for quite some time and god knows when it’ll end but secretly i’m always yearning for that warmth of spring to come around. one day, maybe. thank you john, i needed this. may god blesses your beautiful soul
Pouring out love for all those in comments who said they needed this video because they’re in a hard time right now. I’ve turned to Vlogbrothers for the past 12 years in hard times and spring always came. I hope you all have the love and support you need right now ❤️
This really hit home for me, as I work as a book editor and just sent my first manuscript to some publishers I know. On one hand, I know I have a massive opportunity here because these connections are a privilege -- but on the other, KNOWING these people will read my thing is excruciating. I felt their eyes on me throughout the writing process, but a t le a s t th at w as a l l in m y m i n d...... it's been winter for some time here in Sweden, and for me, I'm deep in it right now. But to quote national pride Karin Boye: "Of course it hurts when buds tear their seams. Why else would spring hesitate?"
so often do people get lead into a false sense that the negativity is the only way to drive themself forward but the reality of it is that eventually the anger and resentment will be misplaced, and it will just end up causing more pain
“I wanna be defined by the things that I love
Not the things I hate
Not the things I'm afraid of,
Or the things that haunt me in the middle of the night
I, I just think that
You are what you love”
"Love is the fuel that burns both bright and clean." WOW
“Our now is not our forever” was a constant companion through several rough years my wife and I shared. And hey, what do you know? It turned out to be true!
I love to hear that! -John
Hey John -
When I was younger (probably around the same age you were, writing your first novel!), I too let fear and resentment and, yes, righteous indignation burn as my fuel too. And as you noted, it worked ... but it also left me with one hell of a mess.
I got into therapy (and received my diagnoses) some years later and what you call 'Love' in this video I envision as 'Gratitude' instead. Not least of all because "Attitude of Gratitude" rhymes and it helps it to stick in my brain.
But of the many (many, many!) lessons I learned in my years of therapy, embracing gratitude as a mindset came easiest to me: the idea that I am owed and entitled to nothing, and ought to remind myself of that regularly, so that I look at the world through grateful eyes. Every morning I wake up in a comfortable bed, inside a climate-controlled home, then walk downstairs (under my own power!) to access readily-available food and clean water, and that's the first 10 minutes of my day! From there it only becomes more humbling - I access and interconnected global network of knowledge and information and communicate with 100s of people from all over the world, all of whom I've had the good fortune of getting to know in one way or another ... I have my family, I have my own version of good health, I have my own version of stable mental health, I have friends, I have birdsong and sunshine and trees and plants and all the other wonderful green things on this marvelous planet that produce the oxygen I need to breathe!
When you're in a dark place, it can be hard to practice gratitude. But if you're reading this, whether you're in good times or bad, I urge you to adopt it into your daily routine - every morning, write down 3 things you are grateful for. Some days will be easier than others, but I'll start you off with a freebie - Nerdfighteria exists, and everyday we are working together to decrease world suck. And for that I will forever be grateful!
this is such an amazing way to look at the world, i've been using gratitude logs at night but i've been struggling to keep up with them! maybe i'll take a page out of your book and try them in the morning instead to start the day off positively, thanks for sharing this! :)
Love is a phoenix, hate is a candle. Only one burns forever. Spring will come.
The end has me sobbing. It has been winter for a long, long time. It feels like *I* have to make spring come all by myself, like I can’t just wait for nature to change the seasons as dutifully and faithfully as always.
And it scares the shit out of me.
I like the metaphor of "Spring is coming," especially since I associate it with allergies. Yea, it'll be warmer, but you will deal with some new problems as you transition out of that winter period. The new problems may be uncomfortable and make you kinda wish it was winter, but it's something we have to try our best to manage until we reach that summer period