common + unity

"community" has become quite the buzzword, from festivals and dinners to meetings and centers.  i think about the word itself as common + unity.  

perhaps there is great and wonderful difference between persons, and they are gathered with something in common for even just a few moments.  a quick interaction at the market, or a longer lasting meal or event.  maybe they see one another regularly, or just on occasion, with a unifying history or memory.

however we slice and dice the word, i'm so grateful for it!  it's like being out on the river.  a both/and of the current carrying you (being) and paddling (intentionality).  investing in those we're gifted with yields a harvest as sure as the fruits and vegetables around us.

i don't take for granted, for example, that after a haircut, we are enjoying our conversation so much that my hairdresser and i walk to get a coffee together and sit in the sun to finish the conversation.  or that my spiritual director is in the olive oil club where i work and i get to hand her a box of goodness.  how sweet is it that i can dance in the back row of a community concert with my senior citizen friends one evening and the next morning watch small kids paint pumpkins!?

even this morning, as i slowed down to cook and enjoy a hot breakfast, my meal spoke to me of community.  everything was given to me by friends:  the breakfast tray itself, the bowl i was eating out of, the cosy it was sitting in and the mug i was drinking from.  even the zucchini bread was a gift.  this delights me no end! 

mutual reciprocity, whether it's sharing sourdough starter, zucchini bounty and eggs, or wisdom, joy/grief, and stories is so nourishing to me.  

what literal harvest are you enjoying?  

what are you most giving thanks for in terms of being able to give and receive with the people you interact with?