Community is something that requires effort and commitment. A community is a group of individuals that are grouped around a common trait or cause. Commonly when people think about community we think about the neighborhood that we live in. Community is often formed because of our geographical location.
I think there is another type of community that is formed from common passions, hobbies, and interests. This is community with connections, and community with a purpose.
When you think about it there are lots of communities around us. Churches, schools, organizations, book clubs, it goes on and on. All of those communities exist to build connections with people, they have a goal in mind. If you are in a book club you have the goal of reading through books and then critically analyzing and evaluating them to get the most out of what the author had to say. A school is a community, you or your children go to for the purpose of learning and building relationships with fellow peers. The teachers are committed to teaching and the students are (or should be) committed to learning.
When people are committed to their community and get involved in their community, they will be able to accomplish those goals. Take the book club example again. You want to start a book club and you end up getting 50 people to come. Before the meeting though, everyone was supposed to read the first chapter in the chosen book. Its the big day of the first meeting and you are really excited! You have the chapter read, notes all over the margins, and you even read other articles about the book. You gave your 100% into this because you are passionate about it. So, everyone shows up and you ask what they thought about the chapter, and all you get are blank stares from everyone…no one read the chapter! Now you can’t talk with anyone about it, the whole book club is pointless.
Maybe you have been in a group or organization like that, where one person is committed but the rest are not. Its rough. Everyone, or at least the majority has to be involved for the group to succeed.
Community is successful when people are involved. When you have a group, organization, church, or school that has people but no one cares or gets involved, all you have is a gathering of people. Get involved in your community, and if there isn’t a community that is based around your passions, interests, or hobbies, then start one!
Get involved with the people around you, build relationships, start communities, help your friends out. We will realize that one day our entire city will be a community centered on building communities and relationships with others.
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