006 - The Human as a Fountain of Encouragement and Hope

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.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. Join Aviv as he and his guests dive deeper into this exploration. KEY TAKEAWAYS 01:51 – Aviv introduces today’s topic, The Human as a Fountain of Encouragement and Hope05:07 – Aviv introduces today’s panel of guests and poses the inquiry, ‘What comes alive in you when you hear the phrase ‘The Human as a Fountain of Encouragement and Hope’?’08:21 – Perry speaks to what encouragement means to him11:43 – Miriam shares her thoughts on encouragement14:12 – The importance of self-encouragement14:51 – Lisa discusses the concept of stepping into our futures with hope17:25 – Karen speaks to the elusiveness of encouragement23:22 – Why hope is such a critical component to the human spirit/experience33:01 – The panel continues to share examples of the power and significance of encouragement in their own lives37:30 – George speaks to encouragement as an influx of energy41:56 – Encouragement and creativity45:28 – Why encouragement and hope are the antidote to the world’s woes46:58 – Turning stumbling blocks into steppingstones55:22 – Daring to try59:26 – The role teachers play as encouragers1:08:19 – Best practices for encouragement1:32:16 – George shares a quick story about his daughter1:34:21 – Aviv thanks the panel of guests for sharing in this rich discussion on encouragement and hope TWEETABLE QUOTES “I feel [encouragement] is an instinct. I feel it’s a natural desire for one human being to give of itself to another human being the benefit of its life. And it’s a very powerful thing.” (06:38) (Trevor)“Hope is a choice. Hope is something that, in the area of encouragement and specifically self-encouragement, something that I find really important. How to teach myself and how to teach children how to encourage themselves is important because being dependent on encouragement from an outside source can be really dangerous.” (12:37) (Miriam)“There is no future without hope. We can’t step into our tomorrows. Hope is what leads us into our tomorrows.” (15:11) (Lisa)“A very powerful encouragement of other people, particularly children, is the encouragement that will enable them to find their own voice, their own awareness of their own choices, and their own ability to cause that self-encouragement. And it is such a call. You try to think about where encouragement comes from. It’s quite elusive because it’s almost a very internal part of the human mind but at the same time it’s very neutral and hard to pin down.” (17:39) (Karen)“Hope is something we need, particularly today in the face of the world’s situation. Definitely it’s something to be, not manufactured, but kept alive in the light of the history of people who have had hope despite the worst of circumstances.” (26:16) (Trevor)“I have to mention the word forgiveness because forgiveness is a big part of hope. As it’s been said, forgiveness begins in one’s self so this is all tied up into hope and encouragement. And the most important thing I think anyone can do for anyone is to believe in them, to believe in their life, to believe in the value of that life and encourage that life to fulfill its possibility and promise.” (36:01) (Lisa)“People want to be seen. And today we live in a world where people are not seen and they’re passed by. It doesn’t have to be a long relationship. It can be just a passing by, a look, a touch, a comment, that can give so much to someone else.” (51:49) (Lisa)“We can liberate the world by the sharing of the passion that we have for life.” (1:07:04) (Trevor)“I think encouragement for dreaming big or expanding one’s mind out to what could be possible is a wonderful gift, particularly with young people, that we can offer to another life.” (1:12:30) (Lisa)“One practice I employ is saying, ‘thank you,’ manners, taking the time to have a rich interaction between people that I meet and not to speed through things.” (1:25:12) (Perry) RESOURCES MENTIONED Portals of Perception WebsiteAviv’s LinkedIn Aviv’s TwitterAviv’s Website