What Does HOPE Look Like to You? A Visualization Exercise

Imagine what HOPE would look like, if it were real.  If it was more than just a word.  What would it look like to you?  Would it be golden and warm, shining like the sun?  Or what if you could feel it in your heart?

I never used to think about these things before I had breast cancer.  But throughout my treatment and recovery, I found myself craving any emotion, tangible or not, that would make me feel better.

I looked at words like HOPE, LOVE, PEACE, JOY.  I put them everywhere.  Posted them on Facebook.  Pinned them on Pinterest.  Wrote them in journals.  Decorated my house with them. Whispered them into the wind.

Words are like flowers that will grow if you plant the seeds in your soul.  Water them everyday. Shine light on them.  Watch them bloom.

"The wound is the place where light enters you." --Rumi

So, let the light shine......on the inside.  Let it fill in the cracks, where you are broken.

Visualization is a wonderful tool for healing.  Imagine yourself bathed in light.  You can name the light whatever you want.  Whatever word makes you feel good.  Whenever you see that word, imagine the light, and let it in.  Your fear is the darkness.  There is no room for darkness if you let in the light.

Last year, while I was still undergoing chemotherapy, I made a wreath to hang on my front door, with the word HOPE on a banner draped across it.  At the time, it was hard to understand what HOPE truly meant to me.  It seemed like a promise that was just beyond my reach.  But now, a year later, I look at that wreath in a new way.  HOPE has taken up permanent residence here.  So I wrote down this poem, which sprung from the thought, "I hung HOPE on my door.  I invited HOPE to my door.  And it came inside."

My wish is for these thoughts of hope to help others who find themselves in that dark place.

HOPE

When I found myself in darkness,
I hung HOPE on my door.
Day by day, it's glittering light seeped inside
Until it curled up at my feet,
Soft and warm and comforting.

I wrapped HOPE around me like a blanket,
And fell asleep in it's light.
I dreamed I saw it's golden hue swirling around me,
Chasing the shadows away.
And I let it inside me, where the cancer had been.

I hung HOPE on my door.
And it came inside,  taking up permanent residence.
From the inside out,
It's shimmering light now shines in me.
Radiating it's promise like a beacon to the universe......HOPE, HOPE, HOPE.........

These are pictures of me, last summer, with one of the many hats I wore while my hair was growing back.