Hope through imagery

There are few things that really affect me these days. Maybe only a few, but they are very potent. They exist. Sometimes pictures can show a story that doesn’t truly reflect a situation as it is. We need to find out more - the result can be very uplifting. It can demonstrate that there is remarkable kindness around us if only we know where to look for it.

Time is the one thing Ashanti White hasn't got, the two-year-old girl has a rare disease that means she ages at an accelerating rate. The little girl suffers from a rare fatal genetic condition called Progeria which means she ages eight times faster than normal. For her family, each day with Ashanti is a gift, but also a reminder that the girl is rapidly approaching 'old age'. Ashanti's parents, Wayne and Phoebe, are appealing for more research into the condition to help other families. Ashanti must go to hospital twice a month and is unlikely to live beyond 13.

A trip to look forward to? Swimming with dolphins. There can be absolutely nothing to match this dream. I haven’t done this, but I know people who have. There is also a terrific book that describes so well the experience: Swimming with Dolphins - A Healing Experience, by Lisa Tenzin-Dolma. It is a collection of 15 true accounts written by those who have swum with dolphins and each writes about the truly spiritual experience. They all describe similar feelings. Dolphins are highly intelligent creatures. Not in the Human sense of intelligent, perhaps, but nonetheless intelligent. And it's magical. Spiritual. Wonderful. Another book is Dolphin Healing: The Science and Magic of Dolphins by Horace Dobbs and describes the extraordinary power and magic of dolphins to heal and transform our lives.

I wish for Ashanti White to realise her dream.

18-month-old twins Sophie and Ellie Challis. Ellie suffered a meningitis attack and has lost her arms and legs. Her elder sister (by 15 minutes) apparently can’t walk past Ellie without kissing her on the head or ruffling her hair. A guardian (angel). Fabulous. What a wonderful image this leaves me with. Love and hope. I have a confusing mixture of sadness and a good feeling. I understand it though and it makes perfect sense.

Some years ago, baby Baylee became a symbol of the Oklahoma atrocity. I have kept the newspaper picture of the dead baby being carried in the arms of a rescuer. To look at it and feel the tragedy makes me feel human. It hurts just as much every time I look at it. This picture is pinned to my office wall. It’ll stay there.

These three images leave me utterly speechless. But I feel it. It does hurt me. Badly. Oddly, I feel comforted by it all. I feel uplifted by it all. Curious? I don’t think so.