The same with "connection" and "community." I've always been connected to something at some extent. You can't help but be connected if you're next to the same people in the same place week after week. And I thought community was the connection between disconnected people. That was enough to make us connected, enough for a community.
But then I flew to Benin, West Africa. I saw a community different from everything I'd ever seen. When a young man passed away, the entire city wore black bands on their arm. For weeks, people would take food to the family. No duh, this man's life was one of great influence. He was a youth leader and was killed in a tragic accident. There was a community. People were deeply connected. They were proactive. I was missing something.
Proactive: making opportunities available, letting people know about them and making them happen.
Hoping I can accomplish great things and do so gracefully.
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2 comments:
hm... those are gOOD words to ponder over! proactive, community, and connected...thanks for the inspiration, hopefully i'll get a moment to reflect on those words too!
No kidding. When looking at the whole picture of life, it's puts time into some perspective. Thanks for the writing about this. I hope that family's grief would be tempered by the communities' proactivity.
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