A Hit of Hope: (for when it gets really bad)

by Betsy Johnson

Overview

2023 Catholic Media Association Second Place Award, Poetry

In 2018, Betsy Johnson’s life went sideways. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, had to undergo chemo and radiation, and was asked for a divorce she didn’t want. Betsy knew there were all kinds of things she could do to numb the pain, but she wanted to get better, not worse. She decided to walk through this crucible with hope and grit, and thus began these meditations.

To heal, we have to get real and name the mess, the fear, the pain. And we have to see a way forward. A way out. Or at least a way to sit while the storm crashes . . . because no storm in the history of the world has ever been able to hold the sky forever. Whatever you or someone you love are facing, these meditations can bring a hit of hope and help you not only to survive but to live light.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814667729
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	03/11/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	136
File size:	621 KB

About the Author

Betsy Johnson hails from a small town in southwestern Minnesota, and her meditations have been downloaded over 100,000 times on the Insight Timer app. She is a writer, professor, and yoga teacher who talks to trees and believes the blue eggs from her local food co-op are magic.

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

Part 1 The Way It Is

Trying to be perfect is a kind of hell 2

Most of us would rather have a root canal 4

Notice when your flaws are in play 6

Life will give you cliffs … and strawberries 8

Part 2 Like/As

This isn't a perfect metaphor 12

Like Don Quixote, know adventure awaits 14

Consider the boulder 16

What if you invited more weeds and wild into your life? 18

Your chance to dance in dead leaves 20

Be as still as a wide-open prairie 22

Consider the acorn 24

Peace-like lasagna-doesn't just happen 26

If you have a mountain in your life, put on a sturdy pair of shoes 28

Even creatures with wings sometimes scream as they wheel in the bluest sky 30

A door asks you to live somewhere between 32

Part 3 Dead Ends

Don't give me the pat answer 36

The world wants you to hide what is weird 38

Can you quit trying to make a U-turn? 40

You can live on autopilot 42

Just don't let them drive the bus 44

Part 4 My (Tougher) Advice

Have a seat 48

Eyes on your own mat 50

Decide now to be a bad ass with a big heart 52

Begin again and fail better 54

Cherish your scars 56

Stoke your inner fire 58

Remember the wondrous space 60

Board by board, nail by nail 62

Dammit, this matters. Trust me. 66

Do not ruin the good with "what if" 68

There is no magic wand 70

Part 5 My (Gentler) Advice

You don't have to do another damn thing 74

Or you can let go of the things that weigh you down 76

Encourage what is good 78

Perhaps, you could consider living the gentler verbs 80

A practice of endurance 82

And if something is big, give it time 84

And if you can't live with the uncertainty 86

Remember, pretty flowers come from shit 90

Encore yourself with joy, baby 92

In this new space, see what is 94

You deserve to be looked at with love and grace 96

Part 6 What You've Done/Are Doing/Will Do

What deserves your attention? 100

Can you tell when you are growing prickly? 102

And it might have been horrible, harrowing, but you have survived 104

Maybe it is a good time to surrender 106

You are bigger than your thinks 108

You have already done so much 110

You have a light inside 112

This is not the end of your story 114

Editorial Reviews

"In short, plain-spoken meditations based on her experiences with suffering and the teachings and practice of yoga and Buddhism, Betsy Johnson offers a series of much-needed balms for those suffering from personal and societal wounds—which, in these times, is all of us. With its emphasis on breathing deeply and being still, this is a book to read slowly, mindfully, and with an openness to all life offers."
Michael N. McGregor, author of Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax


"If as Viktor Frankl reminds us, 'Suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning,' then open Betsy Johnson’s wonderfully wise A Hit of Hope. Let her guide you toward that meaning with a voice forged from her own very human struggles, for her insights shine with the kind of light that can only come from one who has endured the burning. Step into each of these 'Hits of Hope,' these meditations on how to be, and open to the weird in you, the child in you, the flawed and beautiful being in you. This is not a book to read. It is a book that invites us to celebrate the divine in ourselves, that reminds us how each of us, broken as we are, form a piece of that divinity. As Betsy Johnson reminds us, 'It’s easy to become restless. To turn to a phone.' Dear reader. Take my advice. It’s much, much better to turn to this light-filled book."
Peter Grandbois, author of Last Night I Aged a Hundred Years
 


"Betsy Johnson's A Hit of Hope is also a hit of humanity at the very moment we need it most. Whether you read one tiny piece a day or all of them in one sitting, you're sure to feel more nurtured, mindful, and powerful in their wake.”
Chloe Shaw, Author of What Is a Dog?
 


"Inspired and inspiring, thoughtful and consoling."
Midwest Book Review

"Betsy Johnson explores finding one’s worth no matter what life throws at you in A Hit of Hope. Betsy draws hope from a place of knowledge that can only be attained by battling through life’s difficulties with one’s eyes fixed on the divine."
Catholic Media Association
 

From the Publisher