John Pavlovitz: A Bigger Table
In that regard, it tends to be a little bit disconcerting, but you try to balance that with humor and with humility to realize, okay, I realize that a lot of this is artificial, that sort of visibility part of it. But, mostly, I still feel like the same person. I still feel like I’m trying to be a caregiver, be a helper, be an encouragement. And just it’s a little bit different scale now. But, in some ways, it’s just I’m so grateful because when I was in the church, and I thought the table’s not big enough, well, then being able to reach a few million people, you realize you’ve been given a larger table. And so, it’s just a blessing. It’s a joy. And so, to try to embrace that, my life has changed in that I’ve been given that opportunity, which I’m grateful for.
Sylvia Henderson: So, John, you’re also a songwriter, Is that correct?
John Pavlovitz: Yeah, music has been an integral part of my life forever. I was writing music for the church and sort of music for the liturgy. It’s still something that I love to do now much more as a release, as a hobby, as a place to just recalibrate. So, music’s always gonna be central I think in my life.
Sylvia Henderson: How can people sign up for your blog and just stay in touch with you and what’s going on in your work?
John Pavlovitz: Right, everything is connected to my name, so johnpavlovitz.com, is the blog, or you can just search Stuff That Needs to be Said, Twitter@johnpavlovitz. The same thing with Facebook, just use my name. It’s an uncommon name, so you’ll probably find me, and then Amazon for the book, so there’s a lot of places to reach me.
Sylvia Henderson: Let’s talk a little bit about that new book. Can we talk about Hope and Super Powers? I love the title because that’s really what we need right now.
John Pavlovitz: Yeah, Hope and Other Super Powers was basically a response to all the things that we’ve been talking about. So seeing what’s happened over the last two years in America and sensing that sort of discouragement and deflation and frustration that people are feeling, someone said to me, what would you want to say to the world right now, and I said. I’d probably want to ask them what kind of person does the world need and then realize that all our responses, regardless of our politics or our theology or our nation of origin, are going to be very similar. Hope and Other Super Powers is really looking at all those really elemental things about the world: about living, about generosity and compassion and courage and humor and then realizing that those are things that we have to tangibly impact the world. So, we have those ordinary superpowers that we have access to.
So, it’s really a really exciting–I’m telling my story, but I’m telling the stories of people all throughout the world who I’ve met who decided the world had a gap in compassion, and they wanted to fill it, or a gap in joy and they wanted to fill it. So, that’s what the book’s gonna be about, and we’re gonna travel around and have people talk about the ordinary superheroes in their lives, and it’s gonna be just an affirmation of life.
Sylvia Henderson: Would it be possible for you to give us a little sneak peek and share one of those stories of hope?
John Pavlovitz: I tell the story of my friend Natalie, and Natalie had a daughter who was born with disfiguring disease and a host of health problems. And she was, frustrated with having to, figure out how to care for her child. But, then as she did that, she realized how many other children were affected and how many other parents were running into this sort of barriers to simple health and wellness.
And so, it really pushed her into a place of being an unlikely activist and spokesperson on behalf of vulnerable children. And so, she’s been doing this work in North Carolina where now she’s out in the world, and they’re changing legislation, and they’re getting, thousands and thousands of family’s encouragements. And so, I think stories like Natalie’s are over and over what’s happening in the world that may not make the news, that people are saying, you know what, I see the need. And so, people like Natalie are doing this work every day, and it doesn’t take any financial capital, it doesn’t take any, social media juggernaut. You just have to have a desire to be a help in the world and a passion for doing that.
And so, anyone who’s listening right now, that’s what life’s about. Where’s the burden, where is the gap that you need to fill, and you’re here, so this is your chance to do that?
Sylvia Henderson: I think that there are a lot of people out there that are starting to lose hope sadly that things can really be turned around. Is there anything that you may want to share that might inspire anyone who is reading this, who feels that way today?
John Pavlovitz: I went to a memorial service for the students and the teachers who were killed in Parkland here in Raleigh. One of the students stood up before the gathering, and he said, we’re here for a memorial service, and we’re here to remember people who died and to talk about the violence that’s escalating in our world. I woke up looking for hope. And he looked out at all of us, and he said, and there you are. And that’s the encouragement. The encouragement is the unrest in you is an alarm that your heart is still working, that you are still striving to be a person of goodness and love and compassion. So, hope is not lost. I mean, some days, that’s what it’s about.
When we’re at our best, that’s what we’re doing. And I tell people, in the book, you don’t have to save the world. You have to just save the small portion of it that you happen to be standing on at a given moment. And we’re all capable of that, those, Mother Teresa said those small acts of great love. And so, no one can take that from us, and no politicians and no religious leaders. We have access to that. And so, it’s about living into that.
Sylvia Henderson: John Pavlovitz, thank you so much for joining us today. You’ve been an absolute delight.
John Pavlovitz: Thank you.
About the Interviewer
Sylvia Henderson is an Intuitive Energy Healer and Coach who creates positive change and truly transforms lives. https://www.intuitivetransformations.net
You can listen to Sylvia every Wednesday at 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST on Intuitive Transformations on OMTimes Radio
