Spring has arrived and is delivering new gifts daily – such a sacred time of year – all seems fresh and new, including my own spirit. The cold, gray days of winter are now a memory. There is a new sense of hope in the bright green sprouts pushing up out of the earth. The sun seems especially generous, sharing its warmth as I enjoy the first nice days on the patio. The famous words of Emily Dickinson always come to mind on lovely spring days such as these:
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all. – Emily Dickinson
Perhaps it is easier to find hope in the spring, although it is always available to us. Life is wonderful, but it can also be overwhelming – the tragic loss of a loved one, struggling with a sense of purpose in this world, feeling it impossible to accomplish everything on the daily to do list…. Wherever you are – know there is hope. I’ve found when I’m living from a place of hope I see signs of it everywhere. Nature is full of these symbols, these messages to your soul – a sudden warm breeze kisses your face, the symphony of birds fills the air, or the sunlight perfectly illuminates the yellow daffodils. I consider such moments a gift from the divine.
Not every day is perfect, some days are just too much. It is easy to get lost in the failures, the negative thoughts. In those dark days, when the shadows seem to close in, hope becomes a deliberate choice. It is a decision to live from a place of hope and not from fear – it is a shift, a fundamental change, that helps us navigate this life with a sense of purpose and determination. I encourage you when life is difficult:
- choose hope – actively seek it
- choose gratitude – acknowledge the gifts, no matter how small
- choose connection – to a higher power, to a trusted friend, to nature
If you are at a place of fear and hopelessness dear friend, know you are not alone. Hope is waiting for you – be brave and seek it – in the song of a bird, perhaps the verse of a poem – hope awaits. If you look closely at the picture above, there is a cardinal (a beloved resident of my backyard) singing in the tangle of branches against a pink sunset. Often, hope is like this – hidden, mysterious, and beautiful.
When you live in hope it makes all the difference.
