What IS this thing called, “Community?”

My mind has been wrapped tight around this topic over these past few weeks, and especially since this new space has practically given itself birth spontaneously. (This has all reminded me of the time when, as a student nurse, I ended up alone in room with a Mom ,who supposedly was hours away from delivery. However THAT baby wasn’t about to wait for anyone’s permission, period and popped himself right into my terrified hands!)

Community. That sense of being part of a gathering of familiar others, where we feel a some measure of “belonging”. I really didn’t “want to want any of that”: it was too dangerous, so for most of my life, I’ve been a loner. I’ve only come to admit I am as human as anyone else over the past 25 (sober) years, and found out that humans are simply built to need each other, period, like it or not. 🙂

But if that’s so, why do attempts to form and sustain “communities” almost always go up in flames sooner or later, over and over again, on line and off line, in workplaces, in social group gatherings, churches and practically everywhere attempts are made to form and keep them going?

I wonder if it’s because we’ve simply forgotten how? I wonder if this culture has been so sucessful in instilling a competative mindset, and a “me/mine first” value system, that we’ve slowly forgotten about the concepts of honestly sharing resources and responsibilities, ie: the common good, in favor of self preservation and protection of our own?

But we keep trying. We run into some gathering of what appear to be “safe others” and we like it. It feels so good. We stay, we invest much energy in it, and in getting to know and trust each other. Finally, theres a place to belong.

But then trouble rears it head, as it always will among mere humans, it’s an awful threat to everyone who is afraid of losing what they have together. And what do we do when we feel threatened? We get scared, we get mad, and we look for something/someone to blame it on. And always, theres plenty of that to pick from, so off we go to war again, with always so much collateral damage done. There just HAS to be another way.

When I back up and look at whats gone on here so far with a wide angle lens, here’s what I see so far, and it is really exciting to me.

There was no long period of grinding up brain cells on anyones part to “define or focus or organise” this space. There was no need to set up any sort of “heirarchy” at all and amazingly, I’ve NOT heard one WORD spent about “how are we going to keep out/control troublemakers! ” (Whassup with THAT, I wonder? Everone KNOWS there HAS to be rules, right?? How else can we keep ourselves “safe”?)

Instead what I saw was a group of community builders who chose to show up voluntarily and simply roll up thier sleeves, unpack whatever materials and tools they brought with them and just plain get to work. To hell with “blueprints!”

Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing? A bunch of folks not held in total bondage by “rational thought” or “documented evidence” of what can and cannot work online? People who dare actually act on what cannot be measured or even explained, but exists within? No. Can’t be.

But we’re doing it anyway 🙂

I’ve already heard the naysayers. They give it a week at best. No way can this work. What a bunch of loopy, out-of-touch-with-reality idealists. Maybe they’re right.

And maybe not.

I’d sure like to hear everyones elses thoughts about what’s been happening here over this past short space of time, and about what this elusive state of being called “community” means to you….

(I’m off line for the afternoon, so will catch up later)