Each year in our Leadership Owensboro class, we do an anonymous poll where class members are asked several questions, including “is our community going in the right direction” and “is our state going in the right direction,” etc.
The farther away the subject of the question gets from home, the lower the satisfaction level is, regardless of political leaning and regardless of what party is in power.
The bottom line is that people are happier with their community lives — their every day lives. This Leadership Owensboro poll has been a microcosm of what has been a national trend for most of my life. The place where we live obviously deeply impacts our life and our level of fulfillment.
This week, we have many important elections on the ballot — some that have nationally become very divisive. When the outcomes are determined, many people will be happy and many people will be upset. But we will all still be living together, working together, worshipping together in the same spaces.
Next Sunday, we will still be reading the paper, drinking our coffee and enjoying the last of our fall colors while we plan our week.
The bottom line is we have so much common ground. We love our families. We want our children and grandchildren to have opportunities for happiness. We want our elders to have a happy old age.
Beyond the ones we love, we also most always want the same thing from our community. We want to live in a safe place where we can live, work and play. Where we can walk in our neighborhoods without fear from harm. Where our children can get a good education. Where we can drive down streets that are smooth and well-lit. Where we have public works that pick up our household waste and even our leaves and limbs if we live in the city.
We all want to live to a ripe old age and die knowing we have left a mark on the world and that we left the world being loved.
Let’s commit this week to strive for kindness, to remember when it all comes down to it, we all intrinsically want the same things out of life.
Today is All Saints Day, and tomorrow is All Souls Day, where we remember those we have lost. It is a perfect blend of calling us to a higher and better life and remembering we all have a finite amount of time in which to make our mark.
Each of us can make an impact this week with kindness and with remembering the highest good of what binds us together.
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