She looked to the distant star
And began to remember what we are
She took time
To look for her inner rhyme
Was it the rhythm of the moon
Telling her never move too soon?
Or was it the whisper of wind
Telling her all she has is within?
She looked to that distant star
Remembering the Truth is never far
It’s behind the sparkling mirror
Of that star, miles away – yet so near.
She put her faith into the sky,
She stopped asking why, oh why
But breathed in the breath of the One
That lit each little sun.
She looked to the distant star
And embraced every scar,
Because it was the battle cry
That led to the search to know why
And endure war
So finally, yes finally she could soar.
So she looked to the distant star
And prayed we all would find freedom in what we are.

Often, I find myself looking up for Hope. Always I come to find courage inside.
Often, I find hope in the stars. Always I’m led back to the light within.
I dream that stars are distant reminders of who I am truly. Mysterious. Comforting. Wild and free.
Stars whisper loudly to me, “Anything is possible.”

I see stars in midnight skies, but I also see stars in the beautiful angels who walk the Earth. I was driving to work. It was a regular day. I’m at a stop light. I see a man I assume is homeless. Dress is torn. Face is torn. At first glance, you’d think he’s hopeless. He’s wandering the streets, pushing a cart, in beat up clothes – with despair written through his worried brow. Yet – as he walks across the street, he turns around, hurries back across the street. What’s he doing?

He picks up a piece of litter. Some paper – I don’t know, but it was trash. He meanders back across the street and throws it away. A simple act of kindness to the city streets. I saw goodness in his star heart. Hope continued to birth inside of me through the star I witnessed on the street that day.

Often, I find hope in being the witness. Always I become the faith I observe.
Often, I find hope in despair. Always I meet the strength it takes to live.
I imagine we all are stars. Just burning lights of Earth elements. Passionate. Warriors. Courageous beyond our imagination. Stars reflect that piece of my soul that longs to become one with itself.

I experience hope in a variety of ways. One of the most powerful ways in which I have grown in hope is through its opposite – hopelessness. Self-esteem is so essential to how I experience my capacity to embrace the hope. That’s why sometimes I must be reminded through angel eyes. I’m a prayer chaplain at my spiritual community. One of our outreach programs is having a chaplain assigned to a “shut-in”. This is a congregant who, due to extreme physical limitations, cannot leave home. Usually, they are in nursing homes or need full time assistance at home. As synchronicity would occur, I was led to call a woman named Judy out of interest in an electronic item that she was wanting to give to a good home. This item is not something I would ever buy, but it peaked my interest for special reasons. So I called. Judy’s partner, Cynthia, is one of our shut-ins. I wasn’t aware of her full condition upon calling. Cynthia answered. I asked for Judy. Judy was not there. I immediately expressed my excitement, “Hi Cynthia! I’m calling from Garden Park! It’s Nichole. I heard you are giving away a piano! It just so happens I had just thought of getting one!” Cynthia lit up. I heard it in her voice. At the same time, I could very clearly tell she had issues communicating. She sounded mentally disabled, so her words were very difficult to understand. The conversation got a bit emotional on her part because she was attempting to tell me something that I just could not understand. It created huge anxiety on her part. HELP! she even cried. I had to soften immediately. I soothed her with tenderness. “Sweetie it’s okay. Everything is okay”. She calmed down.

I came to discover her condition. She had a suffered from a stroke on top of many other physical limitations.The next day I followed up with her. A woman named Jessie answered, revealing that Judy has been in the hospital for a week. She had a stroke also. Jessie had expressed that she was the only person available to help Cynthia saying: “If I wasn’t here,  no one else would be”.  This family had hit a real cruddy situation. Judy, her only caregiver, is now suffering from memory loss, inability to communicate, incoherence – the stroke works. Their situation was even more difficult taking into account financial issues and overall lack of support. Cynthia had to be moved to a nursing home unfortunately.

I imagine how frustrating and confusing it would be for the both of them to feel helpless. So, after talking to the minister of the church and learning about Cynthia, I decided to go visit her as a chaplain. I learned that she was very open hearted. She was a prayer chaplain herself and a reiki master. I heard she just would break down in tears if you touched her hand in love. I had a taste of that myself speaking to her on the phone. When I softened to her as she was stricken with fear, she immediately responded with gentle, sweet “okays” at the tone of my loving voice.

So, the day of the visit, I made a huge sign that said “CINDY WE LOVE YOU” on it, with messages from the children at church, messages from other chaplains, poems I composed, little doodles, etc. I meet her in the nursing home, filled with so much love and excitement to see her. Immediately I show her the poster board, tell her who I am. I hold her hand and tell her “I’m sending you healing energy and love.” We immediately went into prayer. We both were crying our eyes out. Words came out of me and painted our auras with grace. Shivers were all over my body. Unconditional love washed us both. It was a miracle breath of Spirit. Something magical began to occur between us. She gazed at me with pure love. Nothing but pure compassion and empathy was expressed through me. At the same time, nothing but love was all I saw. She responded so openly and fearlessly to love. At the same time, she was angry and frustrated about her condition and distance from Judy. I saw a warrior who embraced her experience fully. The good and the bad.

As I sat talking with her though, I saw stars in her eyes. Stars that sparkled radiance and beauty. I thought she was the most beautiful angel I’d ever seen. The mysterious cosmos beamed from her stare, and I just knew everything was going to be okay. Her receptivity to love in such a painful time released her bondage to her circumstances and condition.

I thought stars revealed hope to me. I was wrong. It was love that lit the stars to allow hope to emerge.

Often, I turn to the sky for an answer. Always I’m reminded I am that delighted dancer. Often, I ask to be revealed. Always I’m healed as I feel.

Love spoke to me in the mysterious riddle of my eyes. As I looked, I was led back to the “I”. The eye that saw that “I” that never gave up, and love was that power that strengthened hope to continue.

Photo Credits

Stars – PEXELS Creative Commons 

Cindy and Nichole – courtesy of the author

Guest Author Bio
Nichole Mix  
Nichole Mix lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a passionate poet, spoken word artist, soul explorer, and life adventurer. She works part-time at her spiritual community, offering most of her free time in service to the community. The rest of her free time, she dives into her inner worlds to create beautiful art. She has dreams to combine her love for ministry with her own creative expression. She believes that through community support and unconditional love, each individual can bravely learn to listen to their own hearts and express their innate beauty. Currently she runs a writer’s group, “Writing as a Spiritual Practice”, facilitating a safe space for these topics to be discussed and practiced.