Photo by pixabay.com.
“Community” is a word that makes me think of being neighborly, helping one another, and being part of a greater whole. The definition includes meanings of “a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common” and “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” Reflecting on the week I spent at the Vermont Wilderness School’s Art of Mentoring program, I was truly living the spirit of “community” and felt completely connected to each person around me. It was incredible how being in the same place and sharing a common interest in holding space for each person’s needs for learning, love, and connection enabled us to appreciate each person’s unique humanness.
The diversity of our group could be characterized in many ways from age, gender, and sexual orientation to race, nationality, native language, and religion to annual income, whether they volunteered, attended on scholarship, or paid full price, and where they currently reside (assume this list could go on and on). I point out the differences to illuminate the running theme of the week: we are all human. As humans, we are each sovereign: to ourselves and to each other. Each person is personally responsible for their judgments, their words, expressions, actions, their contributions, and their own needs. Each person is valued for what they offer to the community and expected to care for themselves.