It’s been over 2 months since we finished the Tend Her Hope Experience. How did the teachings land for you? Are you still practicing hope?

Admittedly I crashed a little bit after the ending of Tend Her 4.0. The experience is always both exhilarating and exhausting for me! I felt a need to go into my cave for most of May to recover my energy. During May I also went on a life changing 5 day silent meditation retreat where the silence and looking inward refueled me on the deepest of levels.

Little did I know that all of my self-care and new commitment to hope was necessary, because last week my family received the news that my dear father was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He had neurosurgery to remove it a few days ago and we are still waiting to hear back about the pathology so we know what we are dealing with and what type of future treatment may be necessary.

So I find myself in yet another space of not knowing. Just as we learned during the Tend Her 4.0 Hope experience, practicing hope is learning to live in these spaces of ambiguity. Hope is forged through times of adversity and discomfort, not during easy or comfortable times.

I learned during our month of hope study together what a powerful “container” hope is to hold all the complexities and uncertainties of human life. Engaging our hope muscle teaches us to live very much in the center of life feeling both sorrow and joy, and realizing how they are intricately paired.

On the evening before my father’s surgery, which also happened to be Father’s Day, we had the sweetest celebration – a father’s day meal (his favorite: bratwurst), as well as each of us telling him what we love and remember most about him, musical performances by each of my children, and lots of hugs. This day held immense joy and love, as well as our fears and sorrow about the road ahead.

I have been slightly surprised about how steady I feel in the midst of so much uncertainty. I realize that practicing hope has truly aligned me with that energy of the Noble Warrior – the brave and courageous human willing to inhabit that liminal space between optimism and pessimism.

All of this is to say, hope is still alive and well for me. I hope that it is for you as well as you continue to navigate your own unique life circumstances.

Know that all of the Tend her lessons are still available (and will remain so), as well as access to the content from the first 3 Tend Her Experiences. Finally, check out future ways to work with me, including Wisdom Wednesday, practices, cacao circles, and upcoming programs.