Lately, I've done a lot of thinking about what the word 'community' means. One of the definitions of community is a location where people reside. Another meaning is a bit more abstract.....when we refer to a 'sense of community'.
What gives humanity a sense of community?
Is it common shelter, friendship, loyalty, spirit d'corps, a uniform dress code, hair color, breed of dog we own, type of cell phone we use, online social networking sites, religion, language, geography, gates, shoe size? Really. What defines that which we think of as community?
Do you feel a sense of community in your life? Do we need a sense of community in our lives?
Humankind must have differing drives to experience a sense of community or why else would there be so many forms of communication: face-to-face encounters, voice-to-voice conversations, snail mail, web-based dialogue (now there is an oxymoron), tweeting, texting???
I surely do not know the answers to my own questions but I do know that I am missing a sense of community with myself and, if I do not have self-connectedness, is it possible to connect with others in any meaningful way?
After my dad suffered his stroke and lost his ability to communicate effectively, many of his so-called 'friends' dropped off his 'community' landscape. Being the very social person he was, and the fact that he was alone, this loss of companionship with others was very difficult for him. Because he had come to live with me and my family during his post-stroke speech rehabilitation and I had been the one to work with him on speech regeneration, I could understand him. I can still hear his faltering words, when he would be understandably down. "It is good that I am fond of my own company." That sentence comes back to my consciousness frequently when I am feeling isolated even though the world is swirling about me.
My place in the world of community has to begin with me before I can have any dialogue, conversation or relationship with another human. There are life-props that can enable me to connect with myself and others. I've tried bonding with my cranky cat but she is prone to biting the hand that pets her so she is not a dependable life-prop.........which is why I keep fantasizing about another kind of pet.
Hmmm, let's go through the list of possible pets: Birds, snakes, rabbits, gophers, ground squirrels, spiders, white-tail deer, poultry, gerbils, hamsters, mice, rats, snails, horses, cows, pot-bellied pigs.........have I missed any?
Oh, yes. A dog.
Ancora imparo
