Thanksgiving is here. With it comes memories, expectations, and a rush toward other holidays, just four weeks or so in the distance. Everything around us seems to speed up.
Before that happens, I have some thoughts.
I am extraordinarily fortunate. My family is safe, generally happy and healthy. We feel surrounded by the care of good friends. Our days are filled with challenging, meaningful, productive work and engagement. We have aspirations, but truly want for nothing.
I report all of this, not as a point of pride. It all just is.
I’m mindful of how often that is not the case for other people. I’m not talking about misfortune or the sadness and loss that is part of every life. I’m talking about raw vulnerability. People who feel like they can’t gain a foothold in this world before the ground under them shifts again.
It’s a very different vantage point than mine.
This year, I’m grateful for a lot of things, but in particular I’m grateful that my role at DHC is teaching me to
- see vulnerability and resolve to respond constructively, even if I fail to understand its source;
- acknowledge genuine fear and move past the vehement criticism, no matter how it manifests;
- recognize in challenge and frustration the implicit paths to opportunity.
We’re approaching a season that underscores the very different places that vulnerability and security take us. Those of us who feel secure—at least relatively so—will find a nearly endless array of opportunities to give in the name of relieving another’s vulnerability. If we can, we should give, and give generously. Sharing our time, our talents, our resources is the hallmark of Davidson’s strong sense of community and the outward expression of thanks that can lift us past vulnerability toward security.
At DHC, we’re grateful for our donors, volunteers, neighbors, corporate and community partners, and the rich array of local nonprofits who like us exist to improve the quality of life we enjoy in Davidson and to ensure that everyone in our town has access to it.
Thank you.