Sharing Hope
In my daily work, I've come to recognise two significant groups of people who can benefit from sharing each others' stories - Those who have lost hope and are struggling to find meaning and those who through lived experience are finding new ways to embrace life with sense of gratitude and purpose.
This page is dedicated to those who suffer from self-doubt or loneliness, those struggling in the midst of personal crisis, those who feel lost or broken. May these real life stories nourish and enrich you. To those who have shared their stories thank you for your lived experience and wisdom.
To be able to grow your own fruit and veg on a busy street in the inner city is such a joy, we only have a tiny section but my wife Mel has put considerable energy and time into creating a beautiful wild garden. It's a surprising untamed place, a mix of flowers, vegetables, berries and herbs. It's where we go foraging for food, our wild place amidst the noise and traffic of modern living - literally. The cars rumble past as we weed the garden and tend the tomatoes. Mel is such a wonderfully positive person, the garden she gifted the family has changed our lives for the better. It's living proof that you can build your own kind of paradise even in a central city suburb.
Amhed Farid forgives the alleged gunman who killed his wife and 50 other people in a terror attack at two Christchurch Mosques.
15min listen We can't always control the events that shape our lives but we do have choices around how we respond. Alex was injured while playing rugby and is now paralysed from the neck down. Life isn't easy for Alex but he reckons finding a purpose helps, whether you're in a chair or not.
30min listen Our brains are hardwired for risk, an evolutionary adaptation that helped our ancestors survive. But we live in a modern world and the stress of worry is something we need to control. Lance is a former cop who speaks from experience when he says we need to stop being so hard on ourselves.
20min listen Shonaleigh Cumbers is a storyteller. Not just any storyteller. She’s a Drut’syla. She’s a living tradition holder. It’s a tradition that flourished in Jewish families, but that was wiped out during the holocaust. Almost wiped out. As far as we know, Shonaleigh is the last Drut’syla.
20min listen "The last thing I want to be is a bitter old bitch." Diagnosed with terminal cancer and given just twelve months to live, Di Foster is in remission and defying her prognosis. She says facing death opened a dialogue which helps her to focus on what really matters - life.