The Intersection of Wisdom & Hope
Updated: Nov 30, 2020
It’s been said that life is a story we write with each passing moment. Every day is a new page and each week a new chapter. Friends and loved ones are also an integral part of our unfolding story. The plot is full of challenges and victories, obstacles and celebrations. And the moral of the story? To live life well!
At Conizo, we want to be a part of your story. Perhaps your aging mother lives several states away and you’re desperate for information and tools that will help keep her safe, comfortable and content. Or maybe you recognize that you are in the autumn of life and want reliable, empathetic and experienced guidance to help you finish well. Possibly you feel called to serve people whom others overlook - those whose bifocals, gray hair and curved shoulders conceal a lifetime of stories and experiences that matter. You not only want to make their lives better, but you know they still have so much to offer.
Whatever your story is, our story is driven by a desire to provide the experiences, resources, products and services you need. We believe that where wisdom intersects with hope, generations can unite to live life well - at any age. We believe that wisdom and hope flourish in an intergenerational environment. By working together, each generation can assist, encourage, and inspire others to achieve our common purpose - to live life well. When we weave our stories together, we create something useful and alluring.
Our name, Conizo, is derived from a Latin word, “consilium” meaning “wisdom,” and a Greek word, “elpizo,” meaning “hope.” Over the course of history, few words have captivated generations so profoundly. For me, no one describes wisdom quite so perfectly as Dr. Eugene Peterson. In his introduction to The Proverbs he writes:
“Wisdom has been defined as the art of living skillfully in whatever actual conditions we find ourselves. It has virtually nothing to do with information as such, with knowledge as such. A college degree is no certification of wisdom, per say. Wisdom has to do with becoming skillful in honoring our parents and raising our children, handling our money and conducting our sexual lives, going to work and exercising leadership, using words well and treating friends kindly, eating and drinking healthily, cultivating emotions within ourselves and attitudes towards others that make for peace.” ¹
Across the ages, much has been penned and written on hope: Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man, never is, but always to be blest – Alexander Pope². Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all – Emily Dickinson³. Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness – Desmond Tutu⁴.
In these pressing and trying times we find ourselves in – as a people, as a nation, as part of a global community – when it feels like our days are filled with uncertainty at best – hope can be a handle on what we can’t see⁵. Hope can help to get us through. Hope can spring eternal.
At Conizo, we believe that the wisdom of one generation intersects with the hope of another. The aging eyes behind the crooked glasses have watched many a sunrise and seen many a sunset. Those well-worn hands once grasped a paintbrush that detailed the beautiful contours of a landscape painting. Those weak and wrinkled arms once held a newborn after a long struggle with infertility. The heart that doesn’t pump as vigorously as it once did has fluttered with the joy of love and been broken by the sorrow of loss. Each generation has the same hopes, fears, dreams-- the same need for purpose.
Every great story, at its heart, has passion. At Conizo, our passion is living well – where wisdom intersects hope – and it’s here that our collective story begins. We’d love to come alongside your story. Join your story. Allow us to help you write it – because your best chapters are waiting to be written.
Join us weekly, here in this blog space, as we journey together to find out what it means to live well. We will offer a cadre of multi-generational writers bringing you topics and considerations that will inspire you. So, we invite you to come alongside us, as we hang out our shingle at the intersection of wisdom and hope.
Notes
Peterson, Eugene, The Message, copyright @ 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale Publishers, Inc.
Alexander Pope
Emily Dickinson
Desmond Tutu
Hebrews Chapter 11:1-2