This morning, I surfed through Facebook, and found I had been invited to the "Celebration of Hope" Spring Gala for the Beth-El Center, an organization set up "to alleviate homelessness and hunger in the Milford area". They have a story of a guy struggling to get by who found self-sufficiency through their program. I'm currently helping with the Meriden-Wallingford Coalition on Housing, and at work help promote the activities of our "Wherever You Are" program, which provides medical care to the homeless.

At work, one of my co-workers was discussing an athletic event that some of the staff are participating in. They are working to raise funds for a nine year old boy who has brain cancer. The boy has been working to raise funds for the Make A Wish foundation.

It's these sort of things that make you stop and take stock of life. What are you doing with your life? What is the meaning of life? Is it to help a person develop self sufficiency? Is it to help bring joy to the lives of kids facing horrible struggles?

How does this relate to the political process? Are the politicians you know running to get elected to help those around them, or to hold on to a job and protect the interests of their friends?

Is the political process, itself, making a difference in people's lives?

To get elected, I"m going to have to convince between six and seven thousand people to vote for me. I'm going to work hard on that, but along the way, I'm going to work hard on getting people more involved in their communities, finding more opportunities to help others, whether they be fighting homelessness, cancer, or whatever hurdles.

Ultimately, politics should be about helping make the lives of the people around us better, but if we aren't doing that along the way, maybe were missing the biggest opportunity.