Community - part 1

What first comes to mind when you hear the word community?


No really, I'll wait for you to think about it...








Are you thinking of a beach-front community? You know, the way a realtor advertises a house or condo to make it more attractive by labeling it "part of a beach-front community."

Or maybe you're thinking about that line you hear at church " a community of believers."


Something else?


What would you have thought when you were 10 or 12 years old? Would you have had any idea what to say if your Grandma asked you about a community?

Our definitions in our head are often different than those in the dictionary. In high school I learned that this was the word's connotation (what we think of) instead of its denotation (what the dictionary says.)

Our ideas about a word (connotation), often change as we get older. Funny that. The dictionary definitions (denotations) often change over time too. Words that were used often 200 years ago are now labeled as archaic, or do not even get space in modern dictionaries. Many people would rather look at a website like Wikipedia than pull out an actual dictionary or encyclopedia. I'm not opposed to using either, but I'm more likely to put stock in what the book says over what the collective internet users say - shocking right?!

My modern dictionary says this about community: a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common

My reprint of Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary said this: a society of people having common rights and privileges, or common interests, civil, political, or ecclesiastical 

So which would you rather belong to, a beach front community, senior community, a gated or farm community? That's what the modern definition seems to imply. Community means living in the same place. Does that actually make a community? Maybe. But I think it often lacks a depth of closeness or relationships. 

I've lived in several communities in my life, in regards to a physical place. But what I think we long for is the older definition: having common interests, common rights, having a place where we belong as a person, not just as a number.

I've been writing about community this past month for my book, and it has given me pause. We take so much for granted because we hurry through this life. Where is the community you MOST want to belong to? Is it important enough for you to invest time into? Do you give to your community or only take? How can we teach another generation about the importance of true community with deep relationships and real responsibilities when we don't live in community ourselves? You cannot teach what you do not know.

It is time for us to step back and evaluate our communities, whether they be by geographical location or by common interests. How can we lift others up? How can we give back more than we take? How can we create and sustain healthy communities for ourselves and our families?

I'll be sharing some more thoughts about community as I work through it myself. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment and tell me something you appreciate about a community you belong to!