HCHY List: Applied HOPE

[Derek Peterson]

The National Search Institute has come and gone... And, yet, for those  
of us who attended, hope still burns in us. We came looking to learn,  
feel, change, grow, connect, and fire up. And, we found what we were  
looking for. Good on us.

At the conference, I offered the workshop on HOPE - Helping Other  
People Energize... Its message was that Hope can be defined as  
"expecting confidently."

I am having conversations everyday, where many people are not  
"expecting as confidently" as they did a few months ago. People wonder  
about the work of asset-building and youth development in an evolving  
economy, a changing political climate, and a shrinking world. After  
listening, I often get a chance to remind others that, those of us in  
youth development are building america - one citizen at a time... I  
remind them that we teach resilience - we teach the framework that  
demonstrates what kids need to succeed... I remind them that our  
framework teaches BOUNCE!

The work of youth development is, simply put, applied hope. Asset  
builders around the world work within challenging systems to make a  
difference in the lives of children and youth. Hope is more than a  
noun - sitting back saying "everything is as it should be." It gets  
its effect from being a verb - fueling fearlessness - and compels us  
to search to see the invisible, so that we can do the impossible. We  
need to see the opportunities that surround us - "how can we expand  
our efforts in this economy?" We are compelled to see the  
opportunities within ourselves - "how can we cope? Overcome? Bounce?"

As asset builders, we teach resilience; we teach BOUNCE. And, as  
Abraham Maslow said, "If we don't model what we teach, we are teaching  
something else." So, in our lives, the bar has been raised. We GOTTA  
bounce. WE TEACH BOUNCE. (YES!!!) Our quest is to keep hope  
possible... rather than allowing pessimism to be convincing...

In today's complexity, often times it is beneficial to look for  
beautiful questions, rather than delve into the world of solutions.  
 From these beautiful questions, will arise wonderful ideas... And,  
out of these wonderful ideas, we will continue to thrive.

I offer this poem, by Mary Oliver, as a pause... As a time to sit  
back, take it all in, find those beautiful questions and seek those  
wonderful ideas...

Let me know if it encourages...

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world?  Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.

Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause?  I don’t think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance.  The gospel of
light is the crossroads of — indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.
Mary Oliver "What Have I Learned So Far?"

I have not closed an email with this line, since December of 2003.  
And, today, it is very, very appropriate...

Hope is believing in spite of the evidence... and watching the  
evidence change.

Happy Holidays! May the changing evidence in your life, bring more  
HOPE! (I am off to Africa for 4 weeks visiting family and friends.  
Zimbabwe has 100,000 percent annual inflation. They wish for our  
economic problems!)

Onward,


Derek Peterson
International Child/Youth Advocate
derek at icar-us.com
480-220-7477