and I teach the cessation of suffering through the realization," he said, "that the things of this world can only bring temporary happiness." Well, you and I live in a culture that says, "If we're unhappy, we need to get this or get that or get that or get that." Buddha says, "The very fact you think you need this to make you happy is your setup for despair." And then in, in the story of the Exodus, the whole point is that God sent Moses to deliver the Israelites from their suffering as slaves and the suffering of the Israelites in their journey to the Promised Land, and

[Sadness and Despair] *i cri everitiem ;-;*

Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.

But that seems a misplaced worry. We need pretty things close to us not because we're in danger of forgetting the bad stuff, but because terrible problems weigh so heavily on us, that we're in danger of slipping into despair and depression.

and without any obvious warning - be the last  thing between someone and a decision to despair.

VO: LOVE DOES NOT DESPAIR

It's fascinating to see the power which hormones have over us. But if you're an old-fashioned romantic like Neil, don't despair. And speaking as a romantic, how about the answer to my question?

But genuine friendship - the sort that nourishes and sustains, that argues against despair and helps with the eeriness of the early hours - that has to begin somewhere else.

News that two people who had a harrowing break-up are now trying to get back together again a few months or years down the line tends, among sensible people, to raise at the very least suspicion, if not outright irritation and despair. Why are these two cursed lovers heading back to the old chaos and drama? Isn't this just a fantasy sprung from naivety, loneliness and most probably short-term lust? Shouldn't they keep faith with their original choice, double down on the highs and lows of dating and perhaps each buy a dog? And yet, to deny ex-couples any legitimate chance to revisit their situation also feels excessively punitive and in its way naïve, insisting blindly that people can never change, that psychotherapy and introspection, books and conversations, time and long walks have nothing whatsoever to teach us, is as foolish as to assume that change can come readily and lightly. For every misguided attempt to resume a relationship, there must be a proportion of equally misguided refusals to countenance a new start, born not out of wisdom so much as pre-emptive fear and disbelief that people are, occasionally, able to learn a new thing or two. We need to make progress a tool with which to strip the matter of sentiment and rationally distinguish mature from sentimental plans. What follows is a sequence of questions, amounting to a kind of examination, that exes who are meeting up again after a long break should discuss with one another – and as importantly, with themselves – before coming anywhere near to holding hands, let alone – and here we must be very definitive – going to bed.

When Elsa realizes that her way of coping is causing others pain, she falls into despair.