HOPE. This word has been in my heart since I heard a song at Sunday school as a young child. Growing up through the years, HOPE was something I said and heard many times, especially when people were sick. Throughout life, HOPE became something I said when I wanted a certain outcome to happen.

If you look up the definition of HOPE in the dictionary, it seems closer to wishing something to become or be true. In general, HOPE means a desire for things to change for the better and to want that outcome very much. When I was in the chemo chair, I had a sticker of a rainbow on my water bottle from a young girl I taught yoga. I loved that sticker because I remembered my dad telling me that rainbows were a sign of HOPE. A promise for a new day, a better day and a bright future ahead. That sticker soon became my visual reminder while I did my treatments that each time I felt fearful, it would remind me my treatments would soon be over.

Now, as a cancer survivor, I stay true to my faith, and I HOPE every day. I look up into the sky after a rainstorm to see if a rainbow will give me that sign everything will still be okay. That someday cancer will not exist. That my warrior friends will not suffer. That we will all have faith and live without fear by turning to HOPE. Whether you have faith or not, everyone HOPES for a better tomorrow in their lives, especially when there is so much suffering going on in the world today. Whether in cancer, or another type of tragedy, HOPE is a word we have embedded in our hearts and souls. Having something to HOPE for, like a cure to cancer or world peace, allows us to bear the day-to-day traumas of life. Whether we think about it or not, HOPE is a part of everyone’s life. We all HOPE for something, and it helps us define our future by putting our FAITH into hoping for a better tomorrow. Putting our faith in HOPE keeps an open heart, and with an open heart, it is the yogi key to making each moment count.

Having HOPE stands for many things:

Hold On, Pain Ends
Helping Other People Every day
Hang On, Peace Exists
Heart Open, Please Expand
Hold Onto Prayer Every day
Helps Offer Peace Eternally

HOPE is the one thing every human being does and says with love. HOPE is the one thing we all look up into the sky for a glimpse of the color after a storm. To see that after darkness, there is light. As cancer survivors and thrivers, WE HOPE IN COLOR. Because someday, we have faith that someone will find a cure for cancer. We will have world peace. And the many hurt people will no longer be in pain. What is your story of HOPE?

Shay Moraga is a stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer thriver. She is the founder of Shay’s Warriors – Life After Cancer and a yoga instructor for those who have gone through cancer. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Facebook or Instagram.