The new Commissioner of Education, Jeff Riley, spoke of the networks of support he promoted in Lawrence when he led that school system. He said that he gathered people from within the school system as well as the community to work together to support students.
On social media threads lately the message to surround yourself with good people has been trending, and yesterday I spoke to students about building their personal power, I shared this message by telling them that they don't have to make time for those who are unkind and unsupportive to them, but instead they should indeed surround themselves with good people.
Today as I read over a number of posts and comments, I was reminded of the good people in my midst both in real time and online. I am fortunate to be connected to countless people who are working for betterment in their own lives, with their families, and in their work--there's a lot of good out there and a lot of good people.
As I thought more about this, I realized that it will be these communities of good people small and large and near and far that will move our country ahead. It will be the conversations and collective work that these networks promote that will move us all ahead, and it will be the negative, self-serving, and greedy actions that these networks will take down that will similarly lift us all up.
We can continue to promote this goodness with the way we speak, the way we connect, the way we help one another when there are needs and challenges, and the opportunities we have to create together to move each other forward.
As I think of my work today and my work tomorrow, my connections at home and my connections at work and the community, and my experiences as well as the experiences of the many people I am connected to, I recognize that a key feature in betterment and good living is the networks we belong to as well as what we give and take from those networks too.
