Community

Our tree started as a cutting picked up
from the verge. It was a Christmas tree
that stayed and became a seasonal tree.
Here it is both Easter tree and
remembrance tree. 

After writing about being single and finding a work partnership, the natural next topic for me is community. For many years community has been a high value for me. Along the way of looking at how I can share life with those around me, I came up with five [s]s, to which I’ve added an ‘h’, so I’ll start with those;

Simplicity [sɪmˈplɪsəti]

To practice gratitude and contentment and a recognition of ‘enough’ rather than giving in to the cultural demand for ‘more’…bigger, better, newer, shinier, sexier…but always more. Sometimes it is about getting back to basics, which can be more effort than instant, but is simple in its own way.

The tree in mourning between
Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Solidarity [sɒlɪˈdæɹəti]

To remember our brothers and sisters both in other places and nearby and to live accordingly. Sometimes this will mean small sacrifices, other times significant protests or changes. To seek to understand the ‘other’ and how they experience life, then to respond to that in love. Who would I want them to be or do if our places were reversed?

Spirituality [spɪɹɪtjuæləti]

To make the time to share, explore and deepen our spiritual life. I live this as a Christian, but expect communities of other faiths could also hold the same value. I’ve found that shared spiritual practices takes discipline and commitment, but that it is worth it. Shared prayer, shared Scripture, shared quiet, shared fears, shared joys…these are all pieces of a communal spiritual life.

Sustainability includes the vegie patch

Sustainability [sɑˈstæɪnəˌbɪliəti]

To live in a way that does not destroy God’s creation or burn ourselves out. For me this is about being community to those I cannot see and will never meet, by caring for the world in a way that allows them to live in it too. It extends my sense of community beyond people to nature.

Celebrate life [ˈsɛləbɹæɪt ˌlaɪf]

Don’t take all this too seriously, but enjoy the life we’ve been given. Create! Celebrate! Don’t wear yourself down with having to ‘do’ but spend time to ‘be’.

The tree of thankfulness,
decorated with tins that hold
candles and cards that
express thanks, which were
written as part of a
celebratory meal.

Hospitality [hɒspɪˈtæləti]

Welcoming others, sharing food and drink, making home a warm place, not a fortress, yet still having it be a sanctuary when need be. Having visitors, be they family or travellers, to stay for a day or a week.

These things all overlap and I am constantly rediscovering and redefining them.  Through childhood, travel, house-shares, sailing, villages, intentional communities and communities-by-necessity, I’ve experienced the blessings and challenges of community. Although these elements of community bring together the way I wish to live, I regularly fail. Still, it is a journey worth continuing.