A Small Grain of Hope…
“In a century of staggering open questions, hope becomes a calling for those of us who can hold it, for the sake of the world.” —Krista Tippett
In her book Becoming Wise, Krista Tippett connects the array of wisdom she has gathered over years of conversations through five virtues (chapters), with the last one being hope.
As she and her featured wise souls convey the power of hope, I am reminded of how necessary this gritty gift of hope is to navigate through the ups and downs of life.
“Hope, like every virtue, is a choice that becomes a practice that becomes spiritual muscle memory. It’s a renewable resource for moving through life as it is, not as we wish it to be.” —Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise
As you move firmly into this year, I invite you to take hope with you, giving it attention and voice as often as you can. What do you hope for in your life this year? What are your hopes for your loved ones, neighbors, country, and world?
May you choose to be hopeful throughout 2025 and may your hope give you strength in challenging times.
Hope Is…
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”
—Desmond Tutu
Hope in Action
“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.” —Barack Obama
“I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.”
― Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl
For the New Year, 1981
I have a small grain of hope—
one small crystal that gleams
clear colors out of transparency.
I need more.
I break off a fragment
to send you.
Please take
this grain of a grain of hope
so that mine won’t shrink.
Please share your fragment
so that yours will grow.
Only so, by division,
will hope increase,
like a clump of irises, which will cease to flower
unless you distribute
the clustered roots, unlikely source—
clumsy and earth-covered—
of grace.
—Denise Levertov, Making Peace
Thank you for sharing your fragment of hope with others throughout this year!
