Community

I’m no prophet, but I’ve been saying for years that the only way we’re going to survive things like the recession, global warming, diminishing resources and other unavoidable changes is through sharing resources and facilities by coming together in communities. This means co-operating and caring; looking out for one another, not just for number one. It also means facing the challenges of forming functional relationships.

That’s not so easy. It means learning to get along with one another. It also means finding like-minded people to ‘commune’ with. Not easy if you don’t first know your own mind. You need to be an individual in your own right before you can be ‘part of’ a community. That means moving from dependence to independence so you can interdepend. It also means letting go of your pseudo-independent position, where you appear not to need anybody. We do need each other, and that’s why we need communities.

You need clear personal boundaries before you can safely enter community. And you need your heart open so you can be honest and allow intimacy, when it’s appropriate. In any group of people it won’t necessarily be appropriate to be intimate with everybody. You will need discrimination and discernment in order to choose. The more necessary it becomes for us to build and live in communities, the more we will have to grow up.