What is Community?
Symbol: A circle
The questions:
What is community?
Why isn’t life fair?
Why is there suffering?
What about leadership?
Is there a way ahead?
Theme: Relationship and justice
- What is Community?
Community is a group that connects because of things shared. It scales up spirituality beyond just the personal; but it’s still about meaning and connecting. Community’ is ‘relationship’ written large’.
“What can the African concept of ubuntu -‘I am because you are’ – teach us about community?”
Infrastructure may support community, but it never builds community. That’s a spiritual activity i.e. From communitas – ‘shared spirit’, giving meaning to relationships – envisioning and empowering a wider group together.
- Why isn’t life fair?
Fairness is the quality of equality. Decisions free from bias, which just feel right. It is natural and good. At birth and death all are equal. Fairness-justice are at the centre of shalom and community.
“Someone says, ‘Who said life has to be fair?’ when challenged about injustice. How would you reply?”
Unfairness sees resources and opportunity unequally shared, usually by powers beyond most people’s control, often as a result of prejudice and discrimination. This is perverted spirituality.
- Why is there suffering?
Suffering is always possible in life, because of freedom, chance (like accidents), or ignorance. Evil, on the other hand, is always the result of wilful calculated decisions to hurt, to harm, and destroy.
“Is the observation, ‘A bigger problem than the problem of evil, is the problem of good,’ helpful?”
We can work to reduce suffering and pain by education, medicine, science, and wisdom. Evil and attitudes that enable it must be challenged for change at the level of the spiritual, values, attitudes, emotions.
- What about leadership?
Leadership is the ability to inspire, example, and advise, towards achieving a common goal. A key quality of spirituality is leader-wisdom. Many styles, creativity with integrity, gaining respect.
“What factors bring a person recognition as a leader? What are your leadership qualities?”
Authentic leadership authority comes from the quality of their character, sharpness of insight, practical wisdom, their humility. Authority based on a role, title, or hierarchy alone can never be spiritual.
- Is there a way ahead?
Yes. Two first steps are, recognising: community as ‘the fabric of society’ – lives woven together; building it is spiritual work (always practical), because ‘meaningful-relationships’ are foundational.
“If you choose ‘to be the change you wish to see’ in your community, what will be your first step?”
The path continues with enlightened education, leadership with integrity, an inclusive fairness-justice culture, always alert to actual/potential suffering, firmly confronting all expressions of evil.
find your path