Thirty Days of Hope Overview
Dear Friends,
As we head into 2025 and the uncertain future the U.S. election wrought, I’ve once again been reflecting on hope. For the month of December 2024, I’m reflecting on some aspect of hope each day. I hope you’re inspired, caressed, and healed by the words, images, and videos you find here.
The following guide to Thirty Days of Hope, includes the day’s quote, a brief excerpt from the day’s letter, in some cases, some additional resources, and a daily reflection. If you’re interested in reading more from a particular day, click the “Read More” link below the excerpt and that will take to you to the post for that day.
I’ll be updating this each week to include the latest posts until it contains all thirty.
If you want to share this series with others, please direct them to my website page, which summarizes all the posts so far, or just click the Share link below:
I hope that the wisdom of others and the reflections I’ve shared will help you find and sustain hope in your life. And as always, please share your reflections with me when you do. We all need to learn from each other.
With hope in my heart,
Annette
Day 1: What Does It Mean to Have Hope?
Read the full Emily Dickinson poem here: “Hope” is the thing with feathers | The Poetry Foundation
Day 1 Reflection
What does it mean to you to have hope (whether or not you’re feeling it at this particular moment)? Please share your responses in words, images, art, poetry, or any other way you'd like.
Day 2: The Heart of Hope
For more of Dr. Brené Brown’s writing and research, visit BrenéBrown.com.
Day 2 Reflection
Share in words, images, art, poetry, or any other way you'd like to express yourself about a time in your life when something felt hopeless, but you persevered and reached your goal?
Day 3: Infinite Hope
Read more from and about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at The King Center.
Day 3 Reflection
Think about a time when you felt like giving up, when hopelessness pervaded your soul. What, if anything, helped to ground you? Was it something small like a smile from a stranger, something routine like my friend Annie at Nomadic Life Scribbles writes about watching the sunrise each morning, or is it something else that drives you forward? Whatever it is, how can you have more of that in your life?
Day 4: Hope Requires Action
Read more about President Barack Obama at Barack Obama Presidential Library
Day 4 Reflection
What are you called to do today? Is there a letter you could write that would make you feel like you acted on your hopeful future—the future you dream about? The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, who I wrote about in Day 2’s post: The Heart of Hope started a friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt by writing letters to then President Roosevelt and copying his wife. Even in this day, letters matter!
An added challenge for extra credit: Please consider writing a letter to:
Mr. John Furner
President and CEO Walmart
U.S. 702 S.W. 8th St.
Bentonville, AR 72716
Or to any or all of the CEOs of companies that have recently pulled back their support of DEI initiatives:
Walmart
Ford Motor Company
Harley-Davidson
John Deere
Tractor Supply
Lowe’s
Moolson Coors
Brown-Forman (Jack Daniel’s)
Caterpillar
Toyota
Boeing
For more information read: List: Companies that have recently rolled back DEI policies and the major conservative activist behind these rollbacks. You might also appreciate this interview with
Day 5: Hope Illustrated
For more of marine biologist, writer, and conservationist Rachel Carson’s writings, visit RachelCarson.com
Day 5 Reflection
As you look at each of these photos, which one calls to you, which one gives you hope? Write something that reflects the inspiration that photo offers.
Do you have a special nature photo that helps ground you during tough times? Pull it out today and remember the feeling you had when you took it. Let it remind you that when you need hope look to nature first because you’ll be sure to find it there. I’d love to see it, so send it to me if you’d like to share it.
Day 6: Reflections on Hope - Week 1
Day 7: Draw the Circle Wide
Hear the song here:
Day 7 Reflection
What would it mean for your life, if you drew the circle wide and then drew it wider still? What would it add to your life? What do you fear you would be giving up? What challenges would it present for you?
Draw a picture or make a collage of your existing circle. Who’s missing from it? Add representations of those people or groups to your drawing. How does it make you feel to imagine a wider circle?
Day 8: Life Me Up to the Light of Change
For more about Holly Near and to find her music, visit Holly Near – Music and Activism
Day 8 Reflection
What do you think Holly means when she sings:
May the children see more clearly
May the elders be more wise
May the winds of change caress us
Even though it burns our eyes
What holds your confusion, your fears, your wonder and your tears?
Day 9: Creativity as a Path to Hope
Day 9: Reflection
Think about a project you can engage over this next year that will carry you through rough times. If you’re Type A, like me, spend time developing a plan, writing an outline, or otherwise, creating a path for your journey. I swear it helps! Then, whatever your personality type, pick up a pen, a brush, a piece of fabric, some yarn, an instrument, or anything that will allow you to explore the creative side of you, and let the act of creation guide you toward hope. Please share with me what you come up with.
Day 10: Hope and Resilience
Learn more about the amazing poet and incredible person who was Nikki Giovanni:
Washington Post: Nikki Giovanni had the confidence to make an art out of mistakes
The Princess of Black Poetry, Nikki Giovanni, has died at 81
Day 10 Reflection
Reflect on a story of resilience—whether from your own life, someone you admire, or a historical figure. How does their example inspire you to face your own challenges? Share your thoughts in words, images, or any creative form.
Day 11: Imperfect Hope
Explore more of Alice Walker’s life and work at Alice Walker’s Garden.
Day 11 Reflection
Spend a few minutes in nature in the next few days and look for signs of perfect imperfection. How does its imperfection add to its function, to its beauty. Take a photo or sketch it if you’re so inclined. Write a poem about it or just admire it. Let the beauty remind you that it’s OK to be imperfect, too.
Day 12: Lead with Love and Hope Will Follow
Day 12 Reflection
Research musicians and storytellers who are singing songs and telling stories designed to inspire us today and be sure to include some of the classic Civil Rights Movement songs like “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn me ‘Round,” and “We Shall Overcome.” As you do your research, I’d encourage you to start with Reggie Harris, Pat Wictor, Melanie DeMore, Matt Watroba, Kim Harris, and Sheila Arnold, then add a pinch of Cry Matthews, Greg Greenway, Holly Near, and whoever else who inspires you. Create a 2025 playlist that will keep you going even in the most difficult times. I’d love it if you’d share it with me.
Day 13: Reflections on Hope - Week 2
Day 14: Expressing Yourself is a Sign of Hope
Day 14 Reflection
As you read Julie’s admonition, “This is no time to give in to the urge to slow down or quit creating!” what came to mind for you? Do you agree? If so, how and where do you find the motivating to keep creating?
Julie also writes about starting small.
Smile to someone at the grocery store. Make banana bread for a neighbor. Take a walk in your neighborhood and greet others as you pass them on the street.
What can you do today to make a difference in your day-to-day contacts. If you’ve tried, how has it worked out for you?
Day 15: Spreading Hope
Day 15 Reflection
Think about someone you encounter regularly in your day-to-day life—it could be a family member, friend, neighbor, barista, security guard, grocery store clerk, co-worker, anyone you recognize, whether or not you know them well and whether or not they share your politics—and surprise them with something. It could be a rose, or maybe a box of chocolates, a stuffed animal, or, as Elizabeth Gilbert shares, a “You Are Loved” sticker, or whatever your imagination can dream up.
Find a way to share “a rose in the wintertime” with someone in your life. I will do it too and, afterwards, we can compare notes.
Day 16: Hope Lights the Way
Day 16 Reflection
What draws you to the light even when the darkness seems overpowering? What allows you to believe another day will dawn? How do you stay hopeful on days that are filled with stress and challenges?
Day 17: A Hope in Hell
Day 17 Reflection
How would you answer the Sandman’s question, “What power would hell have if those imprisoned here weren’t able to dream?”
How do dreams keep you hopeful? What images did this scene conjure up for you? If you’re so inclined, draw your image of “hope in hell.”
Thank you for accompanying me on this journey.
Day 18: Practicing Hope
Day 18 Reflection
Have you ever considered the idea of practicing hope? What are some things you can do to make hope more a conscious part of your life so it’s there when you need it?
Make a list of five things that you can do when you’re feeling hopeful that you can refer to in times when hope is more of a struggle to find. Please share your list!
Day 19: When Hope's the Last Thing You're Feeling
Day 19 Reflection
What fortifies you when you feel despair? Create a collage of things that anchor your hope. Gather magazines, newspapers, or printouts of images and words that resonate with you. Create a collage representing people, ideas, places, or values that give you hope. Reflect on which elements of the collage resonate most with you right now and how can you integrate these hope anchors into your daily life?
Reflect on times when hope played a role in overcoming challenges. Write about the situation in a journal. Include:
What challenges you faced.
What gave you hope during that time.
How hope influenced your decisions or actions.
Then reflect on what helped you sustain hope in that situation. How did maintaining hope change the outcome?
Day 20: Reflections on Hope - Week 3
Day 21: Did You Maintain Hope
Day 21 Reflection
What does the winter solstice mean to you? How might you honor this day that requires us to bring our own light?
Think about a loved one who has passed this year and remember the light they brought into the world. Write a story about a time when they shared light with you?
As you reflect on Dorothy’s poem, how would you answer God’s question, “Did you maintain hope?” Are there strategies you can employ in the new year that will make it more likely you can answer, “yes?”
Day 22: A Realistic Hope
Day 22 Reflection
How do you balance hope and expectations? Write about a time when your reality didn’t meet what you had hoped for. Is there a time when you didn’t let yourself hope and the reality exceeded your expectations? How do you reconcile those two experiences? Which one serves you better in the long run?
Day 23: Anchoring Hope in Values
Day 23 Reflection
Reflect on three to five core values or intentions that guide your life. Write them down and consider how they influence your decisions and goals.
Choose a goal that reflects one of your values. For example, if your value is “create courageously,” (it’s OK to copy one or more of ours), your goal might be to complete and publicly share an art or photography project that expresses your values, even if, in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt from today’s quote, “you’ll be criticized anyway.”
Set up a plan to assess on a regularly basis how your actions align with your values. Are your hopes and efforts consistent with what matters most to you?
Day 24: Finding Hope in Silence
Day 24 Reflection
Enjoy some moments of silence.
Day 25: Celebrating Hope
Day 25 Reflection
Just enjoy the day!
Day 26: Relaxing Into Hope
Day 26 Reflection
Allow yourself to dream a little today. Give yourself permission to do a jig-saw puzzle, watch a fun movie, sit quietly and watch the birds, read a print book, look up at the night sky, take a bubble bath—do whatever you can to just let yourself relax. Enjoy yourself.
Day 27: Reflections on Hope - Week 4
Day 28: Start with Hope, Then Add Grit
Day 28 Reflections
What can you do that, as
suggests, will allow you to act in hope even when you don’t feel hopeful? Do you believe that’s possible?What does VK mean when she writes, “Into the pure hope, we must mix grit?” What does adding grit look like in your life? How can you add grit to sustain your hope as we move into 2025?
Day 29: How to Keep a Hope-Filled Perspective
Day 29 Reflections
List other positive things that happened since 2000 that impacted your life in some way.
Did you do anything, big or small, to have an impact on any of the positive changes listed? If so, what was it? Why did you decide to contribute some of your energy to that particular issue or advancement? Is this still an important issue for you?
Think about what you might do over the next year to see that this change is protected or even expanded.