A Hit of Hope: (For When It Gets Really Bad)

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.

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.