Short of threatening life or committing slander, we are not held responsible for the impact on hope of our communication style. When science developed the capacity to end physical pain with narcotics as a society we became responsible for its ethical use. Perhaps it is time to become equally responsible for lethal doses of language. The following questions may help us to reflect on ways we may be contributing to hopelessness. The foundation of hope is trust.
Hope is about being equal but different partners in helping.
Hope needs reinforcement. A neewspaper recently published an article minimizing the achievement of a student who has completed 13 years of school without ever missing a day. Hope and humor are related. Sorting out what is serious and what has the potential for humor is a key life skill. A man in the last weeks of his life who I knew well once shared a litany of problems in the first few minutes of our session.