Missed Van Jones but didn't miss the message

I had not heard of Van Jones.  Sorry that I missed the opportunity to hear him speak.  To me, to my heart and soul, his message is the the most important thing on the planet today. 
It is a simple notion to take a little time.  It's just that we are often too busy rushing to put out a fire somewhere.  We are busy doing great and noble things.  How many children did we rush by that could have used a little help navigating in this world that we can barely find the wherewithall to live through each day?  And when these children come to the age of independence and are expected to become productive adults out there, are they prepared?  If we go back a generation or two, when the family unit was fairly intact and there was a sense of community in the social groups in which people lived, it was a built in.  Support was there in the grandparents, the stay at home mother, the auntie, even the local school and police department were there for our kids.  My how the world has changed.  As more and more tension grows due to the many factors that have demanded more of our time and energy just to keep on track~where have we left our children in the mix?  Not just our children but all the young people out there that are preparing to take over the world when we finally run out of steam.  The notion that the strong will survive has become the decision maker, we needn't worry about who will become someone and who won't.  Natural selection and all that.  We can warehouse the failures in prisons and it keeps the economy strong to keep those building projects going on.  But what if…..
What if the field were made broader for the chance for success.  What if every young person were given the tools to be a success in their own eyes?  What if they had a chance to learn that they had the right to choose what success means to them?  Aren't they?  Don't they? 
Please live this day with that in your mind.  When you see the chance to be a mentor, to give a hand, to give advice, to just plain shoot a kid a smile or a nod, don't pass it by.
Have a great day
Lynda