As I think about the upcoming holiday gatherings, I'm thinking about what people want and need. For my closest family members, presence is what they want most--they want me to be there to respond to the supports they desire, supports such as conversations about life choices, playing a game or watching a movie together, preparing good food or hosting their good friends. These are somewhat simple and doable efforts.
As I move out from my immediate family, the greatest need amongst friends and family members is again presence, being there to share stories, support one another, and engage in recreation we enjoy.
Then, moving further out, the need is to support valuable social programs that enrich lives in positive ways--when everyone has the chance to live a good life, we all live better. When we hold people back, we all live in ways less than possible. As a society, we have so much work to do in this arena. Still, too many self-serving, backwards, mostly wealth White men hold our potential and possibility as a country hostage. We need to rid our government of these narrow-minded, me-first leaders and replace them with people who truly understand what it takes to make our country strong and good for every person and especially for our children today and into the future.