The Mystic Messages have had a lot to say about ‘community’ this year. I’m guessing because we human beings need to be hit over the head sometimes before we get the message we need to hear.
This community of Colorado Springs decided to choose to have half the street lights turned off rather than to raise property taxes a penny to keep them on. The city made national news for that decision. Then our neighbor’s daughter hit a deer in the road because it was a stretch with no street lights and she couldn’t see the deer until it was too late. This poor high school student was very disturbed by the incident.
Fortunately, she was not hurt but the damage could have been much greater. Was that worth keeping a penny per some unit of assessed value? When does the good of the community become more important than the penny?
Why do you suppose that we’re being told so much about ‘community’? Why do you think it’s coming up again and again for us to look at? What happens inside you when you think of the word ‘community’?
For some, the word evokes a strong sense of belonging, of being a part of a tribe joined for the common good. For others, it brings up a fear based on an experience of suffering at the hands of a community that abused or ignored or in some other way was not a good fit for the person. Others think of community as being a group who want to take something away from them that is ‘mine’ – picture here a 2-year-old saying that word with all the ownership a tot can express!
What does ‘community’ mean to you? And can we define/redefine it so that it moves us forward in the evolution of consciousness?
I think it’s important for us to grasp the concept of our being social animals, that we live in community with others whether we like it or not. Unless you are a hermit living in a cave at the top of a mountain somewhere (and I suspect that if you are reading these words, you are not that!) then you live in a community of individuals – your neighborhood, your social tribe, your work colleagues, your family. How do you relate to the others around you?
More importantly, have you found your tribe of like-minded folk with whom you can let your hair down and be your authentic self? Are you a member of a community where people share values and ideals and are exploring how they can live a richer life while helping others to do the same? Do you know how to find that tribe for yourself?
There are intentional communities springing up in many places, including online. Many times there are serendipitous connections being made that lead to the forming of a community. Sometimes it takes intention on the part of one or some individuals to make it happen. And maybe, just maybe, you are the epicenter and it is time for you to gather around you the folks with whom you can relate.
Each individual is a part of multiple communities and the good of the community rests on the shoulders of the individuals who make up that community. If you think that your desires should trump the needs of the communal good then you really need to examine your responsibilities to that community. We human beings need to look beyond ourselves to make contributions that acknowledge our connectedness, not our separation.
Do the inner work to examine your life in this context. What communities are you a part of and what is your role? What communities do you want to become a part of and what is your opportunity to create that connection?
Who is your tribe?
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Mystic Messages 
BOOK LIGHTS: from “The Healing of America” by Marianne Williamson
May 24, 2012 — RosemaryOur ultimate ground of being – what the Chinese call the Tao – is the mystical oneness out of which all worldly manifestation flows. To see how the greater oneness is in constant process of giving birth to two – that yin and yang might then come together again and give birth to another one – is to hold the key to greater understanding of anything in the world.
Marianne Williamson
When we understand that we are all a part of the oneness, then we start to comprehend how we can be individuals and part of the whole at the same time. It is not either/or. It is always ‘and.’ Think of yourself as You, the Individual, AND You, the Member of the Community. Thus, the greater good of the Community can also be the greater good of You!