Giving Thanks

Jason Schneidman is a celebrity hairstylist and groomer and the proprietor of The Men's Groomer in Los Angeles. He also created the His Street Cuts campaign, providing free haircuts to LA's homeless population. Having struggled with addiction himself, after he got clean he recognized the importance of doing something to help others. As he says, "I was taught I have to give it away to keep it."

That's what this blog is about: giving it away to keep it.

Current State
It would be easy at this time in our history to throw our collective hands up and say, "Forget it! We've had enough." It can be difficult to find the good in our every day, given current political structures, populist views and incredibly divisive rhetoric we see in news headlines. I, for one, have never been fond of reading comments on news stories but in recent times, I have also grown increasingly weary of vitriol spewed on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

12 Months of Gratitude
But I don't want to take myself out of the game. Instead of giving up, I'm leaning in. As much as our systems are flawed and imperfect, they are what we have. If the alternative is to not participate at all, then that's not good enough.

12 Months of Gratitude is an attempt to counter the negative. While gratitude and the concept of giving regular thanks is absolutely not new, I'm hoping this will be a way for us to see the good when so much around us is bad. This will be a place to give thanks - recognize those that are doing good in the world, provide kudos to those we've interacted with who have made a difference to others or helped us in some way, and share stories that inspire us to be and do better.

How It Works
Over the next 12 months, I want this blog to be a place for all of us. While I will certainly write about that which makes me grateful, I want all of you to do the same and your stories will be published here, on this blog.

Who can submit a story? Anyone.

Who can you thank or acknowledge? Whoever you like.

If you are reading this blog, then this blog belongs to you, too. It doesn't matter if you've never written anything before. If you want to submit a post, then do it! And of course, credit will be attributed to you. If you're shy and don't want to provide your name but still want to submit a story, we'll find a way to work around it e.g. written by "Anonymous." I am happy and more than willing to accommodate anyone who wants to share gratitude here.

For more on how to submit a post to this space, please read the Submission Guidelines.

Future State
In Prince Harry's interview with Former President Barack Obama towards the end of last year, Obama said this:

I can tell people what I genuinely believe: if we take responsibility for being involved in our own fate - if we participate, if we engage, if we speak out, if we work in our communities, if we volunteer, if we see the joy that comes from service to others - then all the problems that we face are solvable despite all the terrible news that we see, despite all the genuine cruelty, pain and hardship that people are experiencing around the world at any given moment.

If you had to choose a moment in human history in which you wanted to be born and you didn't know at the time whether you were going to be Prince Harry or Barack Obama or a small child in rural Africa or India, you'd choose today, because the fact is: the world is healthier, wealthier, better educated, more tolerant, more sophisticated, and less violent than just about any other time in human history.

It seems impossible to be able to change the world but I think Obama's stance on this is something worth remembering. Despite all the negative, there's no better time to create change - and be grateful - than right now.

For our part, let's contribute to the positive. Let's give it away to keep it.