The Color of Hope

It was a beautiful day yesterday, the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, the sky was baby blue with puffs of white clouds in the near and far distance. Nature couldn't be more perfect as Spring gently peaks its way into our lives. My husband and I sat outside under the warm sun, taking in the fresh air, feeling the air gently touch our skin, watching the rain of old leaves fall from our oak trees and enjoying the peace of stillness. Everything couldn't be more perfect, if you can just imagine two people lying under a blanket of sunshine, shaded by trees, sprinkled with the sound of singing birds and warmth of sunny rays at our feet. We were breathing, we were alive, we were calm, we held hands, we said I love you. It was a simple afternoon and yet we had also just endured one of the biggest events of our lives.

Have you ever needed hope? Hope for something good, hope for yourself, hope for a family member, hope for a friend? Hope for a situation or a circumstance? The deep longing for something beyond your reach. A wish, a prayer, good news, or the hope of a life long dream come true. An inner feeling of knowing you want something and feeling it so close in your grasp you can practically imagine it has already been fulfilled.

What is hope? Can you see hope? Can you feel hope? Is hope a learned behavior? Can hope be taught or given? Can you describe hope in color, site, or sound?

Where does hope come from? What exactly is hope? Is hope a wish or a longing? Is hope something you believe in? Are hope and faith intertwined?

Yesterday sweet hubby and I went for our afternoon walk and I spotted my 1st Bluebonnet of the season. The Bluebonnet, our beloved Texas state flower. The flower immediately reminded me of the beauty in new seasons and in new blooms. The sight of the flower inspired new hope and growth for all that is to come.

My picture captured on the right.

Today as we enter a new season of color, temperature, and change. My heart is filled with hope. Hope for humanity, hope for our world, hope that we will all continue to overcome difficulties we face within our lives and within the world we live in. I felt hope yesterday, hope as a warm embrace of peace, love, with the warmth of sunshine on my face.

Hope is generally described as a feeling or desire for something good in the future or a wish for a certain thing to happen according to the consensus of several dictionaries. Several search engines correlate hope with faith. Hope can be found in the bible through many reassuring versus. Hope is the opposite of hopelessness which is correlated with negative outcomes to include increased stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and fatigue.

As I've gotten older and more experienced in the ocean of life I realize how hope can serve as a friend of grace and compassion for yourself or others. A gentleness of being in a state of peace that something beyond your greater power is at hand working for your dreams, hopes, and miracles. Hope can serve as a significant sign of goodness for the near and far future with a feeling of love and abundance that everything you have and need are more than enough to provide for the manifestation of the hopes in your heart. Hope can provide comfort and can set forth a pathway for direction and goals. Hope can come in so many forms or fashions. As individuals we seek hope in places that align with who we are and most definitely what speaks to our inner most true being. Personally my hope comes through my faith. A faith that restores me day in and day out.

Prayers, connections to other people that have paved the way through acts of fortitude, the historical stories of saints, reading encouraging books, writing/journaling, praying the rosary, attending church, reading the bible or just making time to sit with a kind friend who has a open heart during times of adversity.

Everyday I wake up is a new day born to embrace the the gifts we have been given. Everyday is blessing to live and breathe, to make new choices and every new day can be a good day. Everyday is a new day filled with opportunities to set forth jewels of inspiring hope. How can you give hope? How can you openly receive and recognize hope?

The mornings are a captivating way to envelope yourself with a fresh state of mind, clear of the chatter we all face in our day to day lives. For me the mornings awaken my spiritual engine and invokes my soul with new life. I find rest in knowing that a new day offers an opportunity to create, receive, and give hope to yourself or provide it for someone else. In times of need how can we tap into a sense of hope that there is something more beyond our physical realm?

When I close my eyes and visualize hope, I imagine a soft, pink billowy blanket wrapped around me. I can imagine pink roses everywhere. I can imagine the color pink feeling like a soft cashmere sweater. I can imagine the life of a newborn baby girl wrapped in a pink swaddling bundle. I can imagine the embrace of a hug, a warm meal, a favorite food. I can feel the embrace of my husband protecting me from the world giving me a sense of peace, hope, and security. I can feel hope with the love of a friend or family member through a sweet text message, a phone call with the voice of another kind human, a letter, or a card. Yesterday a friend prayed for me, dinner arrived at our front door, a beautiful assortment of flowers were delivered, a care package filled with spiritually enlightening items, candles and brownies, cards, text messages, meals, words of encouragement, messages of kindness and support. All things openly received with grace, All things coming in as a reminder that other people and their acts of kindness can serve as messengers of hope. Acts of kindness are truly positive waves of love with rays of hope extending from one person to another. I like to call these acts of kindness messengers from God above serving as a sign that goodness exists and there is beauty and hope all around us, we just need to be open to the messages.

As I close, I want to ensure that hope can be whatever you need it to be. It can be your favorite color, your favorite place, your favorite prayer, your favorite comfort food. You can give hope as much as receive hope during times of adversity. You can teach hope in others through small acts of kindness and spreading love through inspiring gestures. Giving light is just as important as receiving the light, both go hand in hand as a continuum of hope. And in a world filled with strife and grief, there can also be light and goodness. Perhaps today you can make time to send someone you love a message or make time to just sit and have a heart to heart conversation with inspiring jewels of hope and kindness. Everybody needs hope, hope that there is always something greater beyond this world.

May you have a blessed day, filled with Beauty and Hope.

From my heart to yours,

Erica Jane