Experiencing Life Together
I have to admit, when I think of "experiencing life together" community is not my first thought ... I have to tell you family is not even my first thought. I guess that tells you a lot about my family. I've never created family; never wanted to create family and don't really want to now either. Me and one other person is about as big as I have been willing to go.
Is that changing for me? Something, OK I'll be honest with you ... everything ... is telling me that that is changing for me. I guess we experience life together in community the same way as we experienced it in our first community, our family, and if what family therapists say is true we tend to duplicate the only model we know in all of our subsequent communities until something comes along to show us there is a different way to do it. Rick Warren begins his discussion about Community by talking about the experience and then how to achieve it. Smart man, Rick! I tried to find myself in the picture he presented, kind of like those apparently identical pictures you see with a caption underneath "What doesn't belong?"
On the left the picture of the community in the PDL; a place where people are authentic; giving and receiving in mutuality (Rick's word); sympathetic (caring?); forgiving...OK ... hmmm? where am I in this picture. Picture on the right, my family ... there I am! hmmmm? what happened to all of the authenticity, mutuality sympathy and forgiveness? So Rev. New Thought Guy ... what was it you said yesterday? The only thing between us and IT ... is us?
Either life in community and Church for that matter is transformational or it's nothing. I didn't get into this spirituality thing to remain the same and I'm pretty sure nobody else who's serious about it did either. So if I'm not in the picture the only difference between me and it is ... well ... me.
Today ... I celebrate my power to change. I affirm that by my setting this intention the spiritual power within me is working to transform my life conditions. Thank you, God, for the grace of this moment.
Is that changing for me? Something, OK I'll be honest with you ... everything ... is telling me that that is changing for me. I guess we experience life together in community the same way as we experienced it in our first community, our family, and if what family therapists say is true we tend to duplicate the only model we know in all of our subsequent communities until something comes along to show us there is a different way to do it. Rick Warren begins his discussion about Community by talking about the experience and then how to achieve it. Smart man, Rick! I tried to find myself in the picture he presented, kind of like those apparently identical pictures you see with a caption underneath "What doesn't belong?"
On the left the picture of the community in the PDL; a place where people are authentic; giving and receiving in mutuality (Rick's word); sympathetic (caring?); forgiving...OK ... hmmm? where am I in this picture. Picture on the right, my family ... there I am! hmmmm? what happened to all of the authenticity, mutuality sympathy and forgiveness? So Rev. New Thought Guy ... what was it you said yesterday? The only thing between us and IT ... is us?
Either life in community and Church for that matter is transformational or it's nothing. I didn't get into this spirituality thing to remain the same and I'm pretty sure nobody else who's serious about it did either. So if I'm not in the picture the only difference between me and it is ... well ... me.
Today ... I celebrate my power to change. I affirm that by my setting this intention the spiritual power within me is working to transform my life conditions. Thank you, God, for the grace of this moment.
posted by Rev-T at 8:02 AM
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