The focus of our conversation today is that the human is a fountain of encouragement and hope. We want to sense into, and reflect on, the qualities of hope and encouragement, to explore what they are and how those properties, those qualities, those essences - how they influence our lives.
This conversation is especially important today because we find ourselves through a time of trial and challenge and tribulation all around the world. Also, we find ourselves needing to search and to find those properties of strength, confidence, and conviction - that we can pick ourselves up and start again in the face of tremendous cynicism and derision, and all sorts of impressions that come our way in life, from all sorts of sources of media, essentially communicating that you are not good enough,
that you are not smart enough, that you are not something else enough.
The essence of this conversation you're about to listen to and to discover is a weave of experiences from teachers, parents, and people who were touched and who touched others in moments where all that was needed was a little bit of help, with encouragement and hope, and how central these qualities are in our lives.
Building hope means that you're building a home for something that you have no idea how it can happen, but still, to prepare for when it does happen. Because if you keep having hope, then when that change does happen, you'll be ready for it. You'll be ready to embrace it, you'll be ready to be active within it.
Miriam Abrahamson
Education, art and music have always intrigued me, all leading to and stemming from the great wonder and burning need to find out what being human portends, what I could do and who I could be, what felt right and what felt wrong. I was aware yet didn't know how to articulate the strong dissonances that life around me seemed to be so full of.
There was so much beauty and softness yet so much cruelty and pain.
Since then, I am still researching this unique gift of being human, working towards establishing life- aligned- education for children, and for all…
I believe that within the search of what our human existence is about, are the answers to how we should best proceed in these times of great possibility sided by the breakdown and crisis that we are experiencing all over the world.
Trevor Winn
It’s the seemingly simple experiences of life that had the most impact when very young, like lying on the green hills looking at the white clouds, being with the snow in winter, feeling the cold, sitting by the fireplace, being with the wonder of night, walking, the warmth of others, and then later on, the thrill of travel and the curiosity that motivated me to live and work in various countries.
And now it is to feel useful, to share experience, to have good conversation, to explore what provides life and how that works, my relationship and partnership with myself, the planet, and beyond, being in the quest of being in the place that enables truths to be perceived, connections to be made, remaining open to the requirements of these times in which for me, attitude and sentiment are core elements.
Lisa Marcus
At home, we were always encouraged to ask the more enigmatic questions of life. Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where will I go at the end of my life? And the biggest question of all, What is my part to play in the great canvas of life?
Enchanted by the many different cultures and peoples from around the world, during my youth I traveled through my trusty Encyclopedia Britannica. Then came the wondrous day that I was able to travel by airplane. Committed to being a "Champion of Warmth," I continue my travels and interactions with others from all around the world, as together we create a "bouquet of humanity;" one that connects and offers companionship as we step into the future.
Aviv Shahar
Aviv is the Founder of Aviv Consulting, helping leaders unleash strategic innovation, and is the author of Create New Futures: How Leaders Produce Breakthroughs and Transform the World Through Conversation.
Karen Heney
From an early age there has been a compelling search for truths, those realities that didn’t have a fixing or a closed door. The quest for meaning, sometimes quiet, other times reaching and finding pathways, has always accompanied me. The awareness that all life is caused to exist for an inherent purpose, one that allows for the possibility of furtherance and refinement, has prompted both perceptions and questions. These concern the purpose of human life, its integration within greater domains and what I personally may need to discover in order to play my part.
Creativity has always been integral, with an endeavour to create visual interpretations of concepts as practical activities. The intention behind a current project is to broaden the paths of relevance and meaning for others to access and explore.
George Goumas
Many days, early in the morning, I am awake to see the dawn, to feel the vibration of nature as everything becomes alive. I close my eyes for a moment and let the energy join the life inside me. It is a declaration of continuance of a journey with peaks and valleys, passion, and wisdom.
Being a parent, having real friends, searching through psychology, behavioral sciences, exploring sacred body movements, trying to unlock creative dynamics in every impediment helped me craft my way.
Today, I know what I don't want to have, to do, to be. Promising myself to be diligent, agile, buoyant, and keen to discover the flow of reasonings that will lead me to join a universal consciousness.
Waiting for people of kind to enrich our collective intelligence with their talent and uniqueness.
