What's a Hope Merchant?

I am a practitioner of a psycho-therapeutic modality called Internal Family Systems. 

It's a fancy way of saying, we're all made up of a bunch of parts. Think of a junior high school band learning to play. You are the conductor at the front of the room, with all your clarity, calm and compassion, ready to lead the way. 

But some of your band members are fractious, or scared, or wild, so  it's handy to have an assistant nearby telling your players, "hey if there were a better way to play your instrument, and I know what it is, would you be interested in learning it?"

That's what the hope merchant does in the IFS model. 

We crack the door and let the light of possiblity in. 

Maybe the best thing we can do right now, as the world spins out of control, is to crack open the door for as many people as we can, because when they see the light, and even walk toward it, our hope is kindled too. 

That's the hope of the Firestarter, that I can be a midlife hope merchant for you. Letting et the light of possiblity in, even if the world goes dark. 

Thanks for being here.