Saturday 7 June 2008

Communing

I seem to have had a number of discussions this week which directly or indirectly have been about community.

I guess I function (or dysfunction maybe) in community so it is hardly surprising.

It is a bit strange in a world in which we can all live in each other's pockets, and be in almost constant contact with anyone telephonically...why would you want to phone people in the car or walking to the bus?....that we easily forget some community basics.

Like:

  • community is not all plain sailing, and that we grow through conflict and disagreement as well as through hugs and kisses. In our consumerist mentality we forget that maybe we need to not just throw away our community when it doesn't seem to be working in the way we want.

  • walking out of a community or a relationship when it gets difficult may deny us the opportunity of (as it were) moving to a deeper level. We throw away the very gift that is being offered just as the point where it is becoming valuable

  • it is probably easier to walk out the second and third times, and gets easier as time goes on; and so the whole abandonment dynamic becomes an issue in itself. Instead of solving the problem it becomes the problem
This not a rationale for staying in abusive communities or relationships but a plea to give relationships a bit more attention

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