Stubborn hope

By Camille Dickerson-Lemieux, Co-director & Compassionate Listening Facilitator

This year, members of our global community have gathered together to join our bi-monthly Compassion Circles. It has been my great privilege to facilitate the majority of them and witness the power of shared listening.

During our most recent Saturday circle, I facilitated the circle under the theme of stubborn hope. I started by sharing this poem:

Blessing by Jan Richardson:

Blessed are you

who bear the light

in unbearable times,

who testify

to its endurance

amid the unendurable,

who bear witness

to its persistence

when everything seems

in shadow

and grief.

Blessed are you

in whom

the light lives,

in whom

the brightness blazes—

your heart

a chapel,

an altar where

in the deepest night

can be seen

the fire that

shines forth in you

in (steadfast) faith (and love)

in stubborn hope

in love that illumines

every broken thing

it finds.

Our time together was guided by two questions:

• "What is your stubborn hope?"

• "If you were to wake up tomorrow morning and your hope was realized, how would the world be different?"

For innumerable reasons, grief was heavy in the room. It was clear to me that in order to connect to our stubborn hope, we had to first peer through the grief of all of our losses. With time and tenderness, we witnessed our grief and coaxed out the glow of our hope. By speaking, we held our hearts up to be witnessed by the group; we all knew we were in the presence of something sacred.

We then explored the second question. I encouraged everyone to take the time to picture how the world would look if their stubborn hope were realized. How would that world nourish them? If you permitted yourself to speak from the heart without judgment about this world, what would come out? It felt so important. After all, if we can’t imagine a world filled with our hopes, then how can we find our way to it? 

"Look at how connected we have become in just an hour and a half," one participant said, "we think change has to take a long time, but this is proof that it doesn't." "This experience reminded me of the deep kindness in the world," another said.

The wariness and exhaustion from the beginning of the meeting had fallen away. But it wasn't replaced by naive optimism. Instead, we were all held with dignity and reminded of our unique purpose in this life. Our hopes were informed by the reality of our grief. Being reminded of our hope reminded us of our courage. We are in desperate need of courage. Together, we found belonging, despite the thousands of geographic miles that separated us.

It is an honor to witness this kind of transformation. The light of hope can be found in the darkest places. This work reminds me of this again and again.

So, I ask you, what is your stubborn hope? What future do you long to belong to? We need your vision. We need your heart.

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Camille Dickerson-Lemieux | Springfield, OR

Camille is Co-Director of the Compassionate Listening Project, where she has worked since 2022. With a Master’s degree in Reconciliation from the University of Winchester, she brings academic grounding together with lived experience in diverse communities—from zen monasteries to experimental eco-villages.

Over the past three years, Camille has facilitated numerous Compassion Circles and workshops, guiding participants in cultivating deep listening, resilience, and connection across divides. She is especially committed to clarifying and embodying what it means to create a culture of peace, where every voice matters and differences can be held with compassion.

Outside of her work with Compassionate Listening, Camille explores creativity as a spiritual path. Through her art and craft-centered YouTube channel, she shares her journey of self-acceptance, inspiration, and the practices that sustain her personal growth