Community is an Ecosystem

 

 I love metaphors.

I like thinking about what makes 
'community' and what makes a community feel good.

I think of community like I think of ecosystems; there are many animals (insects and vertebrates), many plants, all unique, even individually differing in some characteristics (recent research shows that within one spider species, some are more bold than others, and why that works for the species). 

All that life is weaved together, independent yet interdependent. Yes, there are micro battles, competition, and such. However, on the community level, there is balance and communal well-being. 

The well-being of the whole defines the well-being of the individual. At the same time, the individual(s) are stitches in the weave. We all influence the colors, strengths, and weaknesses that flavor our stew. 

As I continue to remind myself, many of us want the other person(s) to change, to modify, to be a certain way or think a certain way. Many of us think we know how other people should lead their lives, but few know about their own. 

We are entangled in a web of relationships. Making that web strong, resilient, and a place that helps us feel good about ourselves and our place in it is an ongoing evolution.

Inverting is helping me see the human world as a jungle.  Lions and Tigers and Bears for sure. Beauty, Festivity, and Bliss, too. Complexity with each part needing nurture. 

What does communal well-being mean to you?  What makes this place a good place for you?  What does it mean to nurture within the "mysterious, unknowable, chaotic, imprecise dimensions of community"*?

*"Mysterious, unknowable... attributed to Fabian Pfortmuller, From Community Building to Community Weaving.