On our journey through life, we take note of interests and talents in those around us, especially in friends, students and family members. In my opinion, it is incumbent on us to offer our encouragement.
Too often, we assume that others will step in or that the individual will move ahead without our input. But other social pressures might intervene, especially when financial concerns or personal biases come into play. As I have discussed in a previous post, this is often the case when creativity is suppressed by one's superiors.
Our encouragement may or may not be instrumental (or even accepted) but holding back benefits no one. Indeed, the willingness to offer encouragement rewards both the recipient and the "mentor;" I'm sure many of us can recall at least a few episodes in our lives when our active encouragement was both effective and personally satisfying. And we might also remember that the encouragement of a friend, teacher, or family member actually changed our life.
