The Rose of Hope

Photo by Warren Nistad

The Rose
by Amanda McBroom

Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.









After some recent days of feeling like a failure, I woke this morning with this refrain echoing behind my eyes. The Phoenix was about rising from that devastating sense of self ~ and of recognition of my own part in the process. The Rose is about hope.

When I focus on the negativity happening in my life or around me, I spiral into despair and paranoia. I find myself digging a hole deeper and deeper. If I shift my focus, if I look up, I see the sun, the sky, the clouds, the stars, the moon ~ anything besides the deep, dark, despairing hole.

I know that some flowers, other plants as well, need the cold of winter to let them know that it's time to rest ~ and then to awaken with the spring. This is Spring. This is the season of renewal. I look around at the flowers and trees that are so marvelously in bloom and I feel a buoyancy in the very air around them. It's a season of awakening and hope. A time of opening and birth. I'm awake and aware and ready to fully experience this time of hope!

What shows up in your life when you feel despair? Is there music that returns you to a place of hope? Are there other venues that lift your spirits?