In this holiday season of gratitude and giving, I wanted to express my thanks for this forum in which to speak, and for all of you. I don't take lightly this opportunity, which allows me to share my thoughts and ideas despite their being considered less than typical in some circles. 

I am grateful too for the places in which I can "preach to the choir," so to speak. But here, I so very much value the chance to talk to people who, though different from me, are here to read with open minds and hearts, people who, like myself, are simply doing their best to fill this journey with love and meaning. 

We may never know if we got this life thing "right." All we can know is whether we enjoyed the ride. I certainly don't have all of the answers. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not sure I have any of them, in fact. But I have found some ways of thinking and living and loving that have brought joy to my life and to the lives of those around me. 

Ideas in a vacuum are little more than air. But when they fall into a room full of thinkers interested in pondering them, then they become possibilities. And that is what makes me so grateful for this platform and for you. You have made my ideas yours and yours mine and now we are a part of something so much more. We are a part of making change.

Big or small. We are a part of change. Changing the way we think about love. Changing the way we think about marriage. Changing the way we look at one another. It has been a difficult year—or several years even—for most of us. Change is needed in so many realms. The world of love and relationships deserves no less attention.

Some backwards steps were taken in the pursuit of change. Proposition 8 in California and similar legislation legislated that the lives and loves of some people are lesser than others. I am grateful for the promise of a new leader and a new year and a brand-new opportunity to rescind those changes and move two steps forward, forever ignoring those many steps back. 

Thank you. Thank you for reading and writing and listening and thinking and exchanging ideas with me. I am aware that we don't all hold the same opinions. But I do hope that we all hold the same ideals. That we all want love and joy and peace and understanding in this season and for many more in the future. Thank you for allowing this forum to be a place where change can start.