A commitment to the entrepreneurial spirit and philanthropy. A commitment to children and their stories. Two visionaries. Two paths. Two remarkable examples of creativity and passion in motion.
In this morning’s keynote presentation, Harris Rosen talked about “the obnoxious gene” of entrepreneurial drive: the drive to create new businesses, new cash flow, new employment opportunities, and new ways to benefit his community. He talked about a passion to make the world a better place that would not allow him to rest. His commitment to business and community good (two elements of his life that he does not see as separate and which in fact constitute a seamless whole) are what make his life meaningful. And that meaning reaches out to touch the lives of thousands, including the people who are fortunate enough to be present at this conference.
Later this morning, Vivian Gussin Paley, author of “The Boy Who Would be a Helicopter”, shared with us her passion to listening to the stories of small children. She shared her incisive insights into the ways in which children act out their understanding of the world through dramatic play. How they express their anxieties, their fears, their hopes, and their essential compassion through their stories. She encouraged us through her example to be open to what they are sharing — to ask questions to which we ourselves may have no answers — but to which children themselves will find answers through the course of their storytelling and their dramatic play.
To very different visionaries. To decidedly different sources of inspiration. Yet both guiding us in the direction of our own power to change the world — and showing us that there is magic in it, human connection in it, and ultimately showing us that with our hearts open and our arms outstretched, that change is entirely possible.
Lauren Rosenfeld | Asheville JCC