I love community. I love to be and feel connected to others. My very first blog post was titled " gang of one?" In it I tried to express that for me, I just don't want to live and breathe by myself; I want to move through this life in a gang....in community

Just like it is often easier to do something yourself than to accept how someone else does it, it seems that it might be easier to skip the gang and go it solo.

There surely are people and situations in community that may make us uncomfortable or who do things in ways that don't make sense to us. People may have habits or characteristics we don't like. When I run into these things I wonder if its all worth it.......

I know about all the benefits of community but is the price too high?

And then I see and I know that this cost is actually a benefit. The more diverse my community is, the more valuable it is to me. With diversity comes the opportunity to accept what is and with that real, honest, open hearted acceptance comes the possibility.

Community continually gives us opportunities to expand our boundaries and as they expand they get thinner and thinner like a stretched rubber band. With compassion turned inward (joy)for ourselves we can turn compassion outward.

I have seen and felt my own boundaries stretch and thin out. As I have let go more and more of "things I know" and of fear I just don't need the protection.

I'm looking forward to the day when that band breaks......