Meaningful Reflections: Hope
We need hope to travel along our journey, to cope, and to continue moving forward.
By Kim Crawford Meeks
Spiritual Care Manager
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
Reaching Out With Hope
The theme for the Spiritual Health and Counseling Department for 2024 is "Reaching Out With Hope." Hope may carry various meanings to different people. The one thing I think we can agree on is that we need hope to travel along our journey, to cope, and to continue moving forward.
Hope to you may be found in relationships, careers, hobbies, faith, talents, and more. Sometimes hope is not easy to find. Life is not easy and can be overwhelming at times, and hope may be small and only a flicker of light in vast darkness.
Even on those days when hope is only a flicker, we must focus on the glimmer of hope, so we can continue to move forward. One attitude to practice is to view hope in the morning as we rise and in the breaths that we take.
With each day we are given 86,400 seconds, therefore 86,400 opportunities for hope. Even when 86,399 seconds of the day are bleak, try to seek that one second of hope and hold on to it. Use that glimmer of light to begin again at sunrise tomorrow. As we move forward, we plant seeds of hope in others, which blossom and grow to give new life. Hope is contagious. Hope is beautiful.
A breathing exercise in hope
- Hold up your index finger and pretend it is a dandelion.
- Inhale deeply.
- Exhale slowly as you pretend to blow each seed off the dandelion.
- Imagine the seeds are holding hope and will land exactly where they need to be planted for the people who need them.
Hold on to hope
Hope is born with each life; when nurtured, hope grows.
Hope is rooted in love; when in darkness, look for hope in the light and the glow.
Hope is given as we reach out to give support, care, and plant seeds of love.
Hope is found as we reach out and take the outstretched hand from above.
May every patient, family, and employee of USA Health reach out to receive hope and give hope.
Always hold on to hope.
Learn more about Spiritual Care at USA Health. Patients, family members and USA Health associates are encouraged to call the Meaningful Reflections Line at 251-445-9016 for a daily recorded word of encouragement.
