Creating Hope

Angels: symbols of hope, safety, enlightenment

Photo Credit: (c) 2018 Linda M. Rhinehart Neas

As I decorated for the holidays, I became acutely aware of the many symbols I have found comfort in over the years. Symbols that belong to the stories of how peace and love can be found in the darkness of hate and chaos. 

For example, after a prolonged illness as a child, when it was believed that I might die, the sister superior of our school gave me a little paper Angel to remind me that God was watching over me and sent me Angels to protect me from harm. That became a story of great importance in my life; one that, for me, was valid, real and for which I have had many qualifying experiences. But, for other people, angels are so much fluff. Some people classify angels with the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy, myths told as a child that hold no real usefulness in our adult world.

Karen Armstrong, a former nun, writer and creator of the Charter of Compassion, wrote in "A Short History of Myth" -

"Mythology was therefore designed to help us to cope with the problematic human predicament. It helped people to find their place in the world and their true orientation...An experience of transcendence has always been part of the human experience. We seek out moments of ecstasy, when we feel deeply touched within and lifted momentarily beyond ourselves. At such times, it seems that we are living more intensely than usual, firing on all cylinders, and inhabiting the whole of our humanity. Religion has been one of the most traditional ways of attaining ecstasy, but if people no longer find it in temples, synagogues, churches or mosques, they look for it elsewhere: in art, music, poetry, rock, dance, drugs, sex or sport. Like poetry and music, mythology should awaken us to rapture, even in the face of death and the despair we may feel at the prospect of annihilation. If a myth ceases to do that, it has died and outlived its usefulness." 

Because many people have lost the meaning of our symbols and the stories related to them, they no longer find comfort, peace, enlightenment. How can we hope to get through a Season of Love and Peace, if the symbols of this season ring hollow?  

I believe the answer lies in either rediscovering the meaning of these symbols or creating new meaning.  We can do this, by creating new traditions that bring us the "experience of transcendence" we long for but are not finding.  

For instance, understanding that a candle is, and has been for hundreds of thousands of years, a symbol of hope, we can create a tradition for ourselves of lighting a candle (or several). In the lighting, we can envision how when one person loves another, they are spreading the Light of Love. One candle gives some light; many candles bring more light. 

Another idea is to play a song the really touches your heart or read aloud a poem that does the same thing. So, for instance, on a day that is particularly difficult, you begin the tradition of playing this song, the day will still remind you of the sadness, but the song will bring the reminder of hope for the future.

Hope and peace can be found in the most horrific places. I recently learned, in the peace studies course I am taking, of a young man in one of the war-torn counties of the world, who creates art that in the midst of bombed out streets and buildings. His artwork is a way to remind survivors that hope is always there, that peace is possible. Some of his paintings have become like shrines or altars, although they usually do not last long because those who hate never want hope to grow.

Speaking of altars, this is another way to create a tradition that focuses your energy for the positive. Home altars/shrines were common in ancient times. A picture or statue can help but are not necessary. You can use rocks, shells, feathers or plants to create your "sacred space." This space can be in the corner of a room, on your desk at work or even small enough to carry in your purse or pocket to be set up wherever or whenever you need it - a touchstone, if you will, that reminds you of your connection to the Divine.

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May we all find a means to create hope in our lives. May we find new traditions, new stories that bring us transcendence. 

Blessings!