HOPE

“Sometimes your mind plays tricks on you. It can tell you you’re no good, that it’s all hopeless. But remember this; you are loved and important and bring to this world things no one else can. So hold on” – Charlie Mackesy

There is a definite hierarchy when it come to who takes priority on the country lanes around here and you gotta be sure about where you sit in the pecking order, otherwise you might end up as mincemeat. If you’re cycling or walking or even driving along the narrow country lanes, you have to instantly pull over, dismount or wobble into the nearest field entrance when a local farmer comes hurtling towards you on his giant tractor, trailing an assortment of cutting blades behind him (I’ve not spotted a lady farmer yet, but hoping to one day).

This instinctive response, to give him the road, isn’t just because he could mow you flat in a jiffy, but because something else is at work; respect! We all know the drill. If the farmer’s are, ‘on the move’, you pull over, make room for them and salute them with a jolly wave, as they rumble by. These guys are on a mission from God. They are the custodians of the precious countryside that stretches in every direction. They are the high-priests of the land, the miracle growers and harvesters that start the process that brings food to our tables every day. They are our local heroes, so we bow the knee and let them take their rightful place, as kings of the road.

For me, the farmers are beacons of hope; a belief in the order of things and the knowledge that they will keep us fed with daily bread. I have hope that they won’t let us down, because they will be fully dependable.

Wherever I look, I see that hope is very much in demand – Hope in humans to care for and protect our fragile world, hope for stronger leadership and hope in each other to do the right thing in these COVID times. I’ve listened to countless interviews on TV and radio these past few weeks and keep hearing interviewers slipping in the, ‘hope question’, by asking, “So, do you feel hopeful that we’re going to be able to get through this situation….?”

Hope is an antidote to fear.

Hope brings light, possibility, purpose, self-belief and is rather good at eyeballing the night-gremlins of hopelessness.

I’ve witnessed myself in need of an injection of hope too, just recently, especially in my art practise.

The past 10 days have been a struggle and left me feeling exhausted. I couldn’t decide if it was because I hadn’t set a clear vision, done enough preparatory sketches, or had mislaid my courage somewhere, where I couldn’t locate it. I was batting off the desire to shout…”I can’t do this, it’s beyond me, I feels such a fake”. I was in a maze of despair and couldn’t find my way out. Yet, I also sensed these rocky feelings were, in some way, a necessary part of the journey, so I kept going.

I’m convinced that we’re all designed to be deeply creative and if we block that creative well-spring, we block our access to hope. Whether it’s art or drumming, singing or landscape gardening, or a million other things….it honestly don’t matter. What matters is that we find our thing and do it, with gusto! The Korean artist Kim-Soo-Ja (all one word), says that art is the oxygen for humanity and helps us understand ourselves and our place in the world.

Art and creative living matters, because we are all free radicals; free spirits that have the ability to rise up, be heard and fill the world with love and our unique contribution.

Then, just when I needed it, a dear friend sent me a letter that rebalanced me and brought hope flooding back. It was a letter to Agnes De Mille (dancer & choreographer) from Martha Graham, the older dancer and choreographer.

There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it is, nor to compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly; to keep the channel open.

And, like a trusted compass, hope did guide me in my work, explicitly and implicitly this week.