“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” ~ Pablo Neruda

After 16 days, working tirelessly to break through the massive rubble of the nine-story building collapse in Bangladesh—the rescuers here believed there to be no chance for any additional survivors.

That is, until they heard the soft, clanking ‘tap’ of metal against an iron pipe. Followed by the desperate cry of a woman’s voice, “I’m alive!”

And just like that, hope was restored.

A young woman has survived 16 days buried deep within the rubble, and with no means for water, warmth, or the comforts of another human soul.

But still, she survived. Today, she is alive.

I am reminded of an Emily Dickinson passage, one that so perfectly captures this vision of hope:

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

There is a limitless power embedded in these ‘wings’ of hope—and one that carries with it a light that has the capacity to brighten even the darkest of days.

Hope urges us to hold on, just a little while longer. And hope reminds us always to never give up.

Today, there is a miracle amongst the rubble—and hope is what carried it there.

Namaste—and I pray that we all may care for hope’s wings this day.

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