Hope Abounds Even in Despair

Sometimes we have to face difficult situations, but there is always hope and a positive way forward through adversity. We may have to stand up for what is right or defend the vulnerable. Sometimes we can't avoid the storms ahead and we have to get through them as best we can. In some cases, the road or the outcome is not how we had imagined or hoped it would be.

This week, the meditation during my yoga class reminded me of this and I think that this is particularly pertinent in light of the recent tragic killings of innocent people in France.

During meditation, I asked for a sign about a particular problem I am facing. The symbol I received was of a cardinal priest and holy communion in a church. To be honest, this was not the symbol I was really hoping for. I had wanted to encounter a symbol that indicated that everything would be easy and the outcome I wanted would be guaranteed.

This reminded me of how some of my clients may feel at times. Sometimes the answer from spirit or the journey is not quite what we had hoped for despite our best efforts to be masters of our own destiny. Although life is full of opportunities and blessings, it can also pose challenges that we are given for a particular reason. Sometimes we endure challenges so that we can help others survive or avoid similar experiences. What is certain is that we can make the most of whatever life sends our way.

I interpreted the symbol of the cardinal priest to indicate that the path forward through my challenges involved the connection of heaven and earth. Although the problem seemed overwhelming, the symbol was a reminder to me to remain hopeful. Like the Magician and the Hierophant in the Tarot, the cardinal priest's intention to connect our spiritual and physical worlds is powerful. We are never alone and that divine help from God, the spirit of Jesus Christ and the angels is always present. Even though I didn't receive the answer that I had initially anticipated during my meditation, I felt comforted by the one I was given.

The symbol also lead me to an entire website about the deliverance of hope through cardinal symbols: http://thecardinalexperience.com/symbols.php

If you have encountered cardinal symbols, you may enjoy that website.

I felt as though my yoga teacher must have read my mind because at the end of the meditation and my encounter with the cardinal priest, she read the Prayer of St Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen

The prayer took me back to my childhood when I had heard this prayer read and sung frequently. It suddenly dawned on me that then I did not fully appreciate all of the prayers wording and although hope, love and light were all around me then, I did not always see or feel them. We are each on our own spiritual journey and we grow stronger, wiser and more aware as we move forward on it. When life is difficult, it can be challenging to feel hopeful. But that is the time we need to feel most connected to the light, the divine, or the light of God. There is always hope during our times of need and despair. Once we start feel the hope and the light, miracles seem to happen.

Enjoy this musical version of the prayer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q660KO2hTD0&index=1&list=RDq660KO2hTD0

Wishing you love, light and hope on your journey.