My Hope Chest - An Art Journal by Erica Birch
"The very least you can do is to figure out what you hope for" Pulitzer Prize winning author Barbara Kingsolver finishes the thought, “And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.”
Whenever I said goodbye to my grandfather, I would wish him a good day. His response was often : “I hope you have a good life.” As a child, his words made me smile—they seemed slightly silly, especially since we saw each other every day. It wasn’t until long after his passing that I truly began to measure the weight of these words.
Now, as an adult, I sometimes find myself replying, “Have a good life,” to others wishing me a good day. It’s a phrase that feels simple yet profound—an invitation to reflect on mortality and the pursuit of a life well-lived. I believe each day is like a drop. Or small dot of paint, shaping the bigger picture of a good life.
In my own journey, I’ve adopted a perspective of planning life backward — imagining what I want to see when I look back at my life. Imagining the ideal end, then starting that picture today. At the heart of this process, lies a life rooted in gratitude for the good days, and grace for the less than good ones. It’s not enough to merely feel gratitude or accept grace, to create a good life, we must share these gifts. In sharing, life becomes meaningful, and we affirm not only our own worth, but that of those around us. We not only live inside our, Hope but we create a space for others to be hopeful.
For this 25th, Be Still Media prompt, this philosophy inspired me to create, and share My Hope Chest, an art journal, a space I used for reflection and creative exploration. My Hope Chest holds a poem about a less than perfect life, ending perfectly, and a series containing 3 paintings entitled, Roots and Stars, Rest, and Young again. Paintings, of surreal mornings and evenings, — my visual representations of hope and beauty at both the beginning and end of life’s journey.
My art is where I process the future and reflect on the past. It’s where I approach life with gratitude and seek grace and paint a hopeful ending.
As artists, our creations often become extensions of our inner world. I invite you to step into mine—into My Hope Chest ...
The Poem in My Hope Chest: -
Escape Artist: The Prodigal Son passes by Erica Birch
The family gathered round, all picturesque.
The birth of life's conclusion,
slowly pacing the floor,
Pausing briefly to look out a window,
to stand at the door.
My heart overflowing with grief far beyond this moment in time,
to witness grace, undeserved and refined.
In releasing the breath, hope shatters the skies,
I see so much more than earnest goodbyes.
Our children carry our burdens, our grandkids carry our dreams.
This place in-between,
is not of forgiveness or wrath,
t's just a well-traveled circular path.
To end a book,
only to start rereading it anew.
A chance to rewrite the record on souls,
as fresh as morning dew.
To have the best of us move forward,
and the worst of us forgotten,
to be seen and unseen,
never remembered,
yet someone never forgotten.
To live once is enough,
if we do it just right.
When curtains are drawn,
and doors are shut tight,
in through our souls' cracks,
Hope is the light
Hope is an undeserved promised kept,
Grandkids are windows,
through which hope shines in.
They have no need to forgive or forget,
for they never witnessed the fullness of our sin.
Our sons and daughters at our end,
redemption through them, they tenderly extend.
As our body fades and turns to dust,
our sons and daughters
give us grace,
to retell our stories,
to live anew, they must.
Hoping and praying for a little grace
Just enough to erase,
The dust of our sin.
They bring us the light,
As they carry them in.
To give us a chance
to forgive and forget,
to meet our little selves, face to face at the end,
a fresh chance to start over, to do it again.
Hope is to stand on the shore,
at the top of life's hill,
Of forever & no more,
watching sunrise and the sunset.
To make up our mind & retrace
our steps,
From the end forward,
without regret.
The artwork in My Hope Chest:
20 by 40 Acrylic on Canvas
Entitled: - Roots & Stars
20 by 40 Acrylic on Canvas
Entitled: - Rest
20 by 40 Acrylic on Canvas
Entitled: - Young Again
I hope you have a good day!
With love,
Erica Birch