3 Creative Practices for Finding Hope

With support from James Baldwin & Emily Dickinson

May 18, 2025

a red rose and three rose buds against green leaves — They are modest garden roses but when the first one of the season opens in my backyard, I feel humbled by its beauty

Dear Friend,

Quick check-in: on a scale of hope to despair, where do you find yourself today?

I fluctuate, sometimes hour by hour. I’m developing better habits about when I watch the news, how much news/day, from what sources. I’ve found a new creative way to protest government atrocities in addition to making calls to my representatives. I’m tending to my emotional, spiritual and physical health in the ways that I can.

More and more, I’m understanding hope as a quality that we can cultivate.

Witnessing the creativity and courage of the participants in my Planting Seeds, Writing Hope circle has opened windows in my understanding. Over the last three weeks, they’ve responded to various creative prompts about planting seeds–a metaphor for taking small steps that anchor our sense of trust and purpose even during times when it’s natural and appropriate to look at the world and feel despair.

Today, Friend, I’m sharing three of the creative prompts that we’ve worked with. See which one resonates with you–and know you can always come back and try the other two during the week. Anchoring your creative practice can be a way to cultivate hope.

Turning to the words of writers, artists & teachers I admire also helps me. James Baldwin’s words have been important during these last months:

I never have been in despair about the world. I’ve been enraged by it. I don’t think I’m in despair. I can’t afford despair. I can’t tell my nephew, my niece. You can’t tell the children there’s no hope.

And Emily Dickinson’s “Hope” is the thing with feathers. When I was in eighth grade, I memorized this first stanza because it was on a poster in a teacher’s room. I repeated it to myself often…I was going through a very hard year. It was the first time that words became affirmations, that they came to live inside me.

Our words have power. Our creativity is power. Our hope can be ignited.

“Hope” is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all -

Writing Practice: Set aside 5-7 minutes for this practice. Write in a journal or open a ‘Journey with The Season’ document where you can return each Sunday.

Prompts:

Continue the metaphor of Hope as a bird. Where is your bird of hope perching now? What do they see? Where do they hope to go? Is there a storm they must get through?
Write a thank you note to a person, place, natural element, song, poem…ANYTHING that has given you a glimpse of hope over the last week.
Make a list of moments in your life when you’ve felt a strong sense of hope. Look over your list, select one moment and write more about it, describing the experience with sensory details. What happened? Where were you? What kind of feelings shifted inside of you?

I would love to read your expressions of hope. Comment below or use the messaging app to reach me. And share these ‘Hope’ prompts with a friend who might need them.

Journey With The Seasons by Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer

Discussion about this post