“The meaning that we find in ourselves is a gift that we can share.”
by Kelley Crider
There is a fundamental need for beings to want to be a part of shaping and participating in community, the need for solidarity and support. The idea of community is tricky though. With so many attributes and characteristics contributing to create a diverse collective, sometimes it is hard to know what is needed to build and maintain community.
With this, a question is formed, what is community and how is it created?
Communities are not limited to humans, there are ecosystems that serve other species and beings the same way community is meant to serve us. In my opinion, and what I have experienced throughout the journey of Redfish, is that a community is a group of individual beings who selflessly support, motivate, and act to create positivity. What an individual brings into the community is what helps give purpose and function to community.
We all look to community for something, whether that is a form of thoughts, taking action to make change, or for support and help, the possibilities of community are endless.
Sometimes we get lost in community, and lose our sense of identity when there is heavy emphasis on acting as a group. It is important to remember that we are still individuals, who make individual actions, and who have individual thoughts. Sometimes we need to step back, and figure out what we need, who we are, and what is important to us, because that’s what brought us into community in the first place. The meaning that we find in ourselves is a gift that we can share.
Community acts in different ways to different beings, and there is no right way to “do” community. Community is a diverse network. Community is always there to support and understand. Community is all of us.
