Quotations

Clues for a Time of Turmoil

1. Act in a spirit of hope. Hope, not optimism....Hope has to do with looking directly at the circumstances we are dealing with and still go on because one hopes that one can make a difference in the face of all that stands in the way of making a difference.

2. Act according to a "tentative commitment." Be willing to look at a situation carefully enough, to risk enough, to contribute enough effort, enough hope, to undertake your project...and to recognize that we might have it wrong. We may have to back off or change not only how we are doing something but whether to do it at all.

3. Be "context alert" as a moral and operational necessity.

4. Be a learner/teacher, a wary guide, and explorer in the wilderness. Be question askers all the time, not answer givers.

5. Practice compassion. Facing life requires all the compassion we can bring to ourselves and others. The blind must care for the blind.

Don Michael, 2000, Journal of Humanistic Psychology