Image: She Said This Feels Like Hope
© Jan Richardson
Leaving this here for myself today, and also for you, in case you might need it in these days. So many blessings to you, with deep gratitude.
Blessing of Hope
So may we know
the hope
that is not just
for someday
but for this day—
here, now,
in this moment
that opens to us:
hope not made
of wishes
but of substance,
hope made of sinew
and muscle
and bone,
hope that has breath
and a beating heart,
hope that will not
keep quiet
and be polite,
hope that knows
how to holler
when it is called for,
hope that knows
how to sing
when there seems
little cause,
hope that raises us
from the dead—
not someday
but this day,
every day,
again and
again and
again.
—Jan Richardson
from The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief
P.S. I want to let you know about this online event happening this Saturday (June 13) with In Good Company Foundation. There’s still time to join!
Saturday, June 13, 2026
Holding the Light: A Conversation with Jan Richardson
Online via Zoom, 11 am-1 pm EDT
I am so looking forward to this online event offered by In Good Company Foundation (via Zoom) on June 13! This event will invite us to honor the light within each of us and surrounding us, even on the darkest night. I’ll share readings from my new book, How the Stars Get in Your Bones, as we enter into conversation about love, grief, blessings, hope, and bearing the light in a heartbreaking world. We would love for you to join us from wherever you are!
Info & registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holding-the-light-a-conversation-with-poet-jan-richardson-via-zoom-tickets-1983080983605.
Registration will remain open until the event starts. The event will be recorded so that everyone who registers can have access to it afterward, regardless of whether you’re able to join us that day.
If you have any questions, please contact In Good Company Foundation directly, and they will be glad to help.
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Using Jan’s words
For worship services and related settings, you are welcome to use this blessing without requesting permission. All that’s needed is to acknowledge the source. Please include this info in a credit line: “© Jan Richardson from The Cure for Sorrow: A Book of Blessings for Times of Grief. janrichardson.com.” For other uses, visit Copyright Permissions.
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