Toward the Bright

Toward the Bright

A 2026 Blessing

by Barb Casper

2026 arrives like a quiet door in the dark—
opened by breath, hinged with mercy.

Let us step through with empty hands,
Hearts unafraid to be filled.

May joy find us in small bright moments:
a morning that returns,
a laugh that loosens the knots,
a kindness offered when no one is watching.

May hope rise like a candle in a wide room—
not denying the shadows,
only refusing to belong to them.

And in this new year, let us practice release:
the fear that calls itself wisdom,
the weight that was never ours to hold,
the versions of us built for seasons passed.

Bless what shaped you.
Forgive what harmed you.
Set down what no longer serves—and walk on.

May resilience grow gentler:
less armor, more rootedness.
May love be our daily prayer—
listening, repairing, speaking truth with grace.

Seek the Light in silence, in community,
and the sacred ordinary.

Become lanterns for one another—
not perfect, just present.

Welcome, 2026.
May what is true in us wake up.
May what is weary be comforted.
May love lead us—together—toward the bright.

Gentle Signs

What the Mourning Dove Teaches About Peace and Love

by Barb Casper

The mourning dove arrives like a quiet blessing—never demanding attention, only offering it. Its soft, steady coo is a reminder that peace doesn’t have to be loud to be real. Sometimes peace is simply the decision to exhale, to loosen your grip on what has been clenched, and to let the day begin without bracing for impact. The dove’s presence invites you back to calm: to choose gentleness over escalation, patience over urgency, and grace over harshness.

There is a tenderness in the mourning dove’s song that holds the wisdom of grief without being consumed by it. It acknowledges what hurts, then continues anyway. In that way, the dove becomes a symbol of hope—proof that sorrow and light can share the same breath, and that healing often arrives as something quiet and persistent rather than sudden and dramatic. It reminds you that you can honor what you’ve lost while still making room for what comes next.

The dove also symbolizes love expressed through devotion, loyalty, and the steady choice to return to one another. It points to relationships nourished by consistency—small gestures, honest words, and a willingness to keep choosing connection. Love, in the dove’s language, is not a grand performance; it is presence. It is showing up with softness, again and again, until trust becomes a place you can rest.

For the new year, the mourning dove carries the promise of renewal—fresh beginnings that don’t erase the past, but transform it into fertile ground for a better season. It encourages you to begin gently: to release what no longer serves you, to plant what you truly want to grow, and to let your life return to its natural rhythm. Its message is simple and steady: you are allowed to begin again. You are allowed to move forward in peace. You are allowed to build a year shaped by calm, guided by hope, anchored in love, and renewed day by day.