The Power of Community

Isn't it brilliant when something catches you?  You weren't looking for it.  It just jumps out and catches you.  This blog is one of those moments.  Throughout the last few months one theme has grabbed me...community.

I have spent the last few months surrounded by beautiful, strong women.  Women who lift each other up, who comfort and nurture each other.  Isn't this life, we all need each other.  We need community.  Patch Adams described the pull for community and togetherness.

"We need each other, deeper than anyone ever dares to admit even to themselves. I think it is a genetic imperative that we huddle together and hold on to each other. There is no question in my mind that there is nothing else in life, really, than friendship.-- Patch Adams 

The last few months I have been nurtured by community.  I thought about how to share the role of community and what being a "part of" does for us.  Then I was out running.  As I hit this hill, out of breath and tired, there was a Dad at the bottom of the hill pushing a carriage with two girls in it. 
 

 
As he struggled to get the older girl to get out and walk the hill, I leaned over and whispered to her "race you to the top".  We both smiled and off we went.  We made it to the top of that hill, the 5 year, the Dad with the carriage, and me.  We all made it.  In that moment our community lifted all of us up.  It was just a moment, but it illustrates what community does for us. With the help of our community we can go a little farther, reach a little higher, and feel a little deeper.  So this blog is filled with gratitude for the community of women who continue to love me for who I am, who lift me up when I am down, who see all the best in me, and who are always there both at the bottom of the hill and at the top.  

That hill reminds me of something great in life as well as something great in social work.  Social work is about connecting people.  Strengthening the bonds that support them and building new community.  Frances Moore Lappe said it well,

"I also believe that it's almost impossible for people to change alone. We need to join with others who will push us in our thinking and challenge us to do things we didn't believe ourselves capable of. "
-- Frances Moore Lappe

So keep pushing each other, keep challenging each other, and keep loving each other.  At the top of the hill....and at the bottom.