Finding ‘community’ in our world
How have you been celebrating your faith during this pandemic? I realize that the question is not without controversy and my aim here is not to start yet another argument; it is, rather, to perhaps broaden our definition and deepen our thinking about community. What it is, how we experience it, what it might, joyfully, expand into are all possibilities here.
Major faith traditions all point to the importance of community in their teachings. In the book of John, it is written: “May they all be one… with me in them and you in me.” The Dalai Lama has offered: “When a community is in the state of peace, it can share that peace with neighboring communities.” From Ecclesiastes: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.” And, in the Tao Te Ching it is written: “Go to the people. Live with them. Learn with them. Love them.”
And yet, with all of this instruction, guidance and wisdom, the breadth and scope of community — real community — still eludes us. With all of these teachings, this pandemic, for many, has fostered a sense of loss of community. A loss that runs deep. Cries from many about missing weekly services fill the newscasts and posts on social media. For many, Zoom gatherings do not fill this need, and it is a need not to be dismissed.
However, while it is true that our sense of belonging to a tribe is what we yearn for and what is sensed as missing during this time, perhaps this is a wake-up call. Perhaps this is the Spirit’s way of opening our eyes to a more expansive view of community, of a tribe that exists beyond the walls of our buildings and what it really means to love one another. Perhaps we are only focusing on what is missing instead of focusing on what we have and what surrounds us.
Community is the great spiritual quilt, woven by the Creator, to wrap us all in compassion. It is the way we learn, grow and shift into a higher sense of being. It is where the threads of forgiveness and faith are stitched together to weave the fabric that wraps us all.
True, our immediate family is our community and those we worship with are seen as our faith community. But so are our neighbors, those we encounter in the occasional trips to the grocery store and those we sit beside in traffic. They are all members of our community. They are people who love and hurt, who give thanks and who are in pain – just like us. There are those who care for the sick, protect ourselves and our homes and those who teach our children. All contribute to our community.
And yet, stones are thrown, vitriolic words hurled across pages and streets and, sadly, even physical assaults are launched simply because of differences.
Perhaps it is not community that people are seeking; perhaps it is just that we want to take the easy way out, to sit in buildings with people who we define as “our own kind,” thinking that it will calm us and solve our issues. That, I don’t believe, is community. That is not what our spiritual leaders taught. That is not accepting and using the many gifts brought to the table for the betterment of all.
But, lest you think this column is a descent into despair, fear not! I believe that together we can change this thinking, through compassion, with great faith and forgiveness. The world is our building and big enough to hold us all. Stay safe. Take care of each other.